


Who'd Have Known

by dizzy, virkatjol



Series: Adria [1]
Category: Stargate: SG-1
Genre: F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-21
Updated: 2011-07-21
Packaged: 2017-10-21 15:40:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 58,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/226812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/virkatjol/pseuds/virkatjol





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Who'd Have Known

Author: dizzydame and virkatjol

Rating: NC-17, most of it is PG-13 or less.

Summary: What would happen if Vala is found right after giving birth, taken back to the SGC with her baby and that baby doesn't age unnaturally fast?

Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by us. We are owned by the adorableness that is Cam/Vala

A/N - Virkatjol: When Mandeh emailed me her dream, which is where the plot for this fic came from, I was like OMG THAT IS AMAZING. PLEASE LET ME WRITE THIS WITH YOU. Luckily for me she gave in to my pleading and begging and groveling. I had an epic time BAMMING her and this fic grew into a HUGE thing on it's own. I'm not sure if she expected 58,000 words when she dreamt it.

SPECIAL THANKS TO karen_b for the BETAing! I plied her wit promises of porn in the future for the undertaking.

 **CHAPTER 1**

Cam's adrenaline is pumping and he doesn't have any idea what to expect when he steps into the room. Jackson, Teal'c and Sam are keeping the guards outside occupied with handy gunfire, but there's no guarantees that there won't be more problems inside the room. He steps carefully, creeping around corners with his gun held in front of him.

The thin beam of light slices through the darkness in the room and somehow, despite the fact that this is exactly what he came here looking for, he's still shocked to see Vala huddled in the corner of the room with a small bundle clutched to her.

She's also got a gun of her own, but she's Vala, and that doesn't surprise him at all. "It's me," he says, taking the helmet off of his head so she can see him. Her eyes are wide and wet and scared. "Vala, it's me, Cam."

She can't believe her eyes. The sight in front of her makes her blink rapidly to make sure she's not hallucinating. The baby in her arms is quiet, she's less than an hour old and Vala still isn't sure how she's managed to evade the Ori. She knew that when her labor started she had to do it on her own. She did. The bloody mess that still surrounds her is evidence of it.

"Cameron?" She's not sure if he hears her. Her voice is cracked and strained. Everything hurts. She wants this to be real. She needs this to be. If it's not, she is sure that she'll lose herself and her daughter trying to keep out of the grasp of the Ori.

"Princess. Looks like you've had a rough day." He puts his gun in the holster and crouches down to creep towards her. He doesn't make any sudden movements, her gun is still pointing in his direction and he wants her to stay calm.

She chokes out a laugh at the understatement of his words and it turns into a sob. The gun falls from her fingers and she holds her hand out for him to take.

He gets an arm around her. "Are you okay? Can you stand up?"

It hurts, but Vala's been through worse. She grasps onto him tightly, the baby still curled against her body sleeping. She has to struggle not to cry out once she's on her feet. Everything hurts. She turns her face in toward his chest to stifle the noise that rises from her throat.

Cam feels absolutely helpless. He supports her while she gathers herself together, but he can't give her too much time. "We've got to get out of here. They're planting explosives."

She nods against him. Still hardly believing that they came for her. Every step sends sharp pain through her and she's sure that somethings not right. There isn't time to complain or protest, she just puts one foot in front of the other, leaning more weight then she should on Cam.

He feels her body tense with every movement. She must be in an incredible amount of pain. He tries to distract her. "What's it's name?"

"It's a girl." She smiles before it turns into a wince with the pain as she walks. "Adria. Her name is Adria."

"That's pretty." Cam is at a loss for anything else to say. Luckily they get into the hall and Sam is there.

"Daniel's planted the first explosives, and Teal'c is working on the second," Sam says, filling him in. "Vala how are you?"

"She needs a doctor. Got a little junior member of SG-1 with us, and I'm sure mama here could use a nap." Cam says, and then subtly nods toward the baby with urgency in his eyes. Sam understands right away. "Vala, let me take her."

Vala's arms tighten around the bundle to the point where the baby wakes and lets out a thin cry. "You can't-"

"Vala," Cam says softly. "We need to move fast. Let Sam carry the baby, and I'll carry you."

"Alright." She agrees, reluctantly, and Sam still has to pry the child from her grip.

"Okay, little mama." He watches as she braces herself for the pain that must be coming. Cam is as gentle as he can be as he lifts her into his arms. Her hands clutch at his neck, pull on his hair and he hears her groan. But now she's cradled against his chest and he starts to move quickly. "Comfy?"

She just grips his his neck and grits her teeth. She's afraid that she might pass out and concentrates on the feel of him around her. To be safe. She thinks about that feeling. Her muscles relax, just a little, and the ache eases enough to make a black out further away.

"Thank you." She buries her head into the crook of his neck and lets out a sob.

"Nothing to it. Couldn't leave the girl who saved us all in the hands of the Ori, could we?"

He walks quickly towards their transport ship. He's not sure when Vala does pass out, but by the time he makes it there she's out cold. He realizes her dress is sticky with blood, blood that is on him now.

"Shit," he says, scrambling in. Daniel and Teal'c are already there, in the pilot seats. "Get going, she's not doing well."

Daniel strains his neck around to try and see what Cam is doing, but it's more important to get moving. Cam lowers her to the floor, taking off his vest and jacket then balling the jacket up under her head. He has no idea what Sam is doing with the baby, but he doesn't care. Right now he is all focused on Vala.

It doesn't take long to get back to the Odyssey. "Tell them we need some medics there as soon as we dock," Cam instructs Daniel.

"Sorry about this..." He lifts her dress to see if he can inspect anything. He sees the steady trickle of blood leaking from between her thighs. "Sam! Sam!"

She comes around the corner as the ship takes off. The baby is clutched to her body and she's wrapped in some clean linens.

"I need towels, anything to try to stop the bleeding. Or at least slow it." He tries to remember if he saw the placenta anywhere. If she hasn't passed the afterbirth that could be why she's still bleeding. Or she's torn severely. He pulls the dress down and covers her before scooting up to her face. His fingers are covered in blood as he strokes her cheek. "Vala." He taps her to try to rouse her. "I need you to wake up."

"Cam?" The bright lights of the ship make her blink and close her eyes. Sleep sounds good right now. She feels so weak. "I need to sleep, okay?"

"Not yet, mama." He taps her cheek again and she opens her eyes for him, a little wider. "Did you birth the placenta?"

"Cam," Sam says, sounding hesitant. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Used to spend summers with my grandparents on the farm," Cam says. "I've done this."

"With a human?" She asks.

Cam glances up at her and glares. Sam's eyes widen but she doesn't say anything else. He's not sure Vala really needs to hear that he has absolutely no experience beyond summers when he was fifteen years old.

Vala sucks in a breath and then lets out a cry that makes them all wince. Cam's fingers are bloody but he holds her hand anyway. "Vala, honey, I know it hurts. I need you to push for me again right now, okay? Can you do that?"

They're only a few minutes away from the ship but she looks like she's about to pass out again and he doesn't want to risk it.

His other hand reaches beneath her skirt and presses on her belly. He's feeling for the muscles moving. He'll try to help her.

He feels the contraction coming, it's weak, but it's there. "Okay, Vala, push."

He sees her eyes roll back in her head as she draws a deep breath and does what he asks. The contraction doesn't last long enough and he rubs a soothing circle on her abdomen and waits.

"It hurts, Cam."

"I know it does, baby, I know." He squeezes her hand and just keeps rubbing her stomach and waiting. When he feels the next one he gives her the direction to push again. The first one seems to have awakened her body, reminding it what it needs to do. The contraction is powerful and Sam hands the baby to Daniel before dropping down beside her to help her sit up and brace against it.

Vala releases a cry from her throat. She feels the movement and knows that she'll be able to rest shortly.

Cam wraps the placenta in a towel and sets it aside. "You did great, Vala. Sleep now." He packs the fresh, clean towels that seem to magically appear against her, hoping it will help still the flow until they get her to Doctor Lam.

"We're docking," Daniel says. Cam braces himself with one hand and reaches out to steady Vala with the other. Landings are always bumpy in this thing.

The medical officers rush in as soon as the docking is complete and the doors are opened. Cam steps back, bumping into Sam. She still has the baby. He's suddenly not sure what to do. He starts to follow, but Sam stops him. "Cam, you're-"

He looks down and realizes that he's a mess. "I'm gonna go clean up."

"We'll meet you at the medical bay," Daniel says.

Vala's unconscious through most of the examine. She wakes just as Carolyn is finished.

"Where is she?" Her breasts ache, more so than her whole body, and she has a need to hold her child.

"She's here." Sam is holding her and rocking her. The baby is starting to fuss with hunger and she's happy that Vala's woken up. "She's doing well."

"Can I have her please?" Vala struggles to sit up and Teal'c walks closer to aid her. She's sore and exhausted and grateful for the assistance. "Thanks, Muscles."

"Indeed. I am glad you are back with us Vala Mal Doran."

She just nods at him, too focused on her child to focus on anything else. She should feed her. After she settles into place, Sam places Adria back into her arms. Part of her calms as soon as she's touching her daughter again.

"You're gonna be okay. Just a little sore for a few days." Dr. Lam informs her. "Do you need help nursing?"

"I think I can do it." Vala starts to pull the laces on her gown apart and everyone starts to back from the room. The awkward feeling of the situation taking over for them.

Cam changes into fresh clothes and washes off his hands in the sink. He watches the water tint with pink and it makes his stomach churn.

He practically jogs to the medical bay, walking right in. "Uh-" Daniel reaches out and stops him. "She's... uh."

Cam gives him a funny look, not sure why Daniel appears to be blushing.

"She's nursing," Sam supplies, rolling her eyes at Daniel.

"But she's okay?" Cam asks.

"The doctor thinks she'll be fine. She woke up not long after they brought her in. I think they gave her stitches or... something." Now even Sam is looking vaguely uncomfortable at the topic of conversation.

Cam nods, and sinks into one of the chairs lining the little waiting area.

"Did she lose a lot of blood?"Cam's still concerned, he can't shake the feeling that they were too close to being too late.

Daniel shrugged. "Lam didn't give her a transfusion or anything so she must have thought her color was fine. None of us are really experts in the area of childbirth. I'm guessing what looked really bad was just normal bad?"

"There was just so much blood."

Sam jumps in to try to calm the team that seems to be worrying unnecessarily. "Her color looked good and she was more alert and very eager to get her baby back. She's tough. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Daniel pops out of his chair. "I've got some stuff to finish up. If anything changes let me know."

The three of them wave him off. Cam can see that Teal'c is looking a mite uncomfortable and Sam restless to resume her normal duties.

"I'll stick around. My mission and all. I'll see it out." Cam sees the look on Sam's face. A little guilt for wanting to leave the other woman. But there's nothing for them to do right now. "Go. I'll call if you're needed. No reason for all of us to be here worrying."

They make it back to Earth, where SG-1 is expected to immediately prepare for the next phase in the defense against the Ori. Cam tries to check in with Vala when he can, and he knows the rest of the team is doing the same, but spare time isn't easy to come by these days. There is a sense of urgency that none of them can escape and as much as he'd like to help Vala, the fate of everyone on the planet demands more attention.

They come back from another unsuccessful mission and no ones spirits are exactly high. Landry gives them forty eight hours of down time and all but orders them to get some rest before they head out again. He doubts Sam or Daniel will actually follow that sternly voiced request.

Cam gives in to one pressing urge: the desire to sleep. He's out for at least nine hours, what feels like forever considering how much not sleeping he's been doing lately between missions offworld and being on ships with no real set day/night schedule, just shift rotations. Once he's awake, he's restless, though.

He goes back to the base because he doesn't know where else to go... but once he's there, he ends up in front of Vala's door.

His hand raises to knock three times before he actually touches the cool metal. At first there is no answer and he considers whether knocking again is an option when the door swings open.

"Cameron, Hi!" Her voice is sunny but exhausted sounding."Sorry it took so long, I had to put the baby down and then I noticed I had some spit up on my shirt..."

"It's alright. I..." He doesn't know what he's doing at her door. "How are you?"

"Feeling much better now that I've had some sleep." Vala realizes she's still standing at the door and moves back to let him in. "Did you want to come in? I've been basically alone for the past couple days and some conversation that doesn't involve goo goo and ga ga would be nice."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Cam walks into her room. It's a mess. Not dirty, just obviously rapidly thrown together. There is an old looking bassinet on the wall and he sees a tiny fist pop out the top before a cry splits the air.

He winces. "Did I wake her up with the knocking?"

"Oh, no," Vala sighs. "I'm quite sure she was saving that one for as soon as I tried to get some sleep, so it would have happened anyway."

"Sleep? It's almost lunch time." Cam frowns.

"Yes, well, tell her that," Vala says, lifting the baby up. She holds the back of her head gently, swaying and humming. "Considering how often she sleeps, you'd think I'd have more time to actually do things like eat and sleep myself. I think it's some sort of strange infant paradox."

Cam takes her in for the first time. She's skinny, always has been, but the bones in her arms seem more pointy and her hips seem jagged above the hem of her loose pants.

"When's the last time you ate?"

She continues to rock and soothe Adria. "Hmm?"

"You don't remember, do you?" This fact causes Cam great concern. Her desire for food outweighs almost everything else. "Vala?"

"I am sure I had something for breakfast." She places the infant back in the tiny crib and smooths her fingers over her face. She seems to be falling back to sleep.

"Well it's lunch time. What do you want? I'll run and get it." Cam sees her eyes sparkle with mischief. Maybe he should have put a cap on that offer. But he doesn't really mind. He'll go get whatever she desires because looking around her no one has done much for her lately.

"Cake," she immediately says.

That's about what he was expecting, but he still argues. "You gotta eat more than cake."

"Fine, cake and pie," Vala shoots back.

Cam laughs. "I'll be back in a few minutes with something that covers at least three food groups, okay?"

She sticks her tongue out at him. He's glad to see that there's some spark to her, even if she still looks exhausted.

It doesn't take him long to go to the cafeteria and back. He has a tray loaded up with what he hopes is enough food for both of them.

"Oh!" Vala pulls him and the food over to her bed. There's no where else to sit in the room and the bed is at least a queen. It's the best thing they did for her, get her a large comfy mattress. She checks on Adria one last time before sidling up next to him.

"I got a variety in case your stomach demanded more than just chocolate." He smiles as the brownie is still the first thing she puts her hands on. He choses a sandwich for himself while looking on as she devours the fudgey square.

"This is delightful." Her eyes roll back in her head as the sugary sweetness of the brownie touches her tongue. Her stomach makes a loud protest, demanding decent food, but she ignores it and finishes the treat. "Seems to think I should eat something else."

"Try this." He angles his sandwich towards her mouth and she takes a bite.

"Oh this is good." She is almost intelligible behind the mouthful of food. She reaches for more and he hands over the rest. There is plenty of food and it's for her, anyway. He'll contemplate putting up more of a fight later, when he can't count every bone in her body anymore.

"Did the Ori feed you?" He sees her start at the question and mentally kicks himself for asking.

"In the beginning," she says. "Tomin was very eager to please me... but I was the little woman and I was expected to provide the meals for him."

"You? Little Susie Homemaker?" Cam can't quite picture that, and the disbelief is evident in his tone.

"Well, I didn't actually make the home," Vala says, misunderstanding the reference.

"No, just means you cook and clean... like a housewife..." Cam says, and that one is at least a little more self-explanatory.

Vala takes it in stride, shrugging her shoulders. "I did well enough. I learned how to make a lovely stew out of the game Tomin would bring home after hunts. He was a dreadful hunter, unfortunately, so mostly we had bread and vegetables. Once he started to leave a lot on all of that Ori business, I'd nip down to the pub for meals. I began to develop cravings for this one pickled tuber with a cheese cream sauce... actually, now that I think about it, it sounds a bit dreadful, but at the time I couldn't get enough of it."

"So he just left you alone, pregnant, to fend for yourself?" He can't imagine doing that to someone that he liked, let alone claimed to love.

"I'm quite good at fending for myself." Vala throws up her defenses and leans away from him. She feels a little insulted.

"Yes, Princess, you are. There is a difference between leaving Vala Mal Doran space pirate alone to get a meal and Vala expecting mother in a strange, hostile place." Cam sighs and backtracks. Seeing that she's still hurt that he was concerned she couldn't take care of herself. "The people in the pub fed you well?"

"Mmm, yes. The barmaid had been with child not long before I showed up. She understood my strange tastes. I think she snuck me extra food." Vala smiles thinking of the one friend she'd made in the Ori galaxy. "Which was good, since money doesn't grow on trees there either and stealing wasn't an option. You're not very stealthy when there is a giant ball in place of your belly."

"You made it back in one piece, that's all that matters now," Cam says. Even as he says it, he recognizes it as an empty sentiment. Of course what happened to her there matters... he just doesn't know what to say about it.

She continues to pick at the food until the plate is mostly empty.

He catches her turning her head to hide a yawn and it makes him smile. "Tired?"

"Always," she says, leaning back against her pillow. The bed isn't even made, the covers hastily pulled over, though he can feel the lumps underneath from the sheets.

"Need a babysitter?" It's an impulsive question, falling off of his tongue before he even fully processes the thought.

"Know any good ones?" Her voice is sleepy and the belly full of food isn't helping her remain alert. She plays with the flap of the pocket on the side of his pants trying to keep herself awake.

Cam can't imagine how she's lasted this long alone. "I'll look after her, you sleep."

"What about-" A yawn breaks her sentence. "What about work?"

"We're grounded for another-" He check his watch. "Thirty-five hours. I think I can spare a few for you to catch up on some shut eye. Plus I need to teach the kid how to evade all her mothers best traps."

"You don't even know that." She smiles as she drifts off to sleep.

He slowly gets off the bed and clears all the wrappers and bits of food away. He pulls the quilt from the base of the bed up around her shoulders and impulsively smooths her hair back from her face. She murmurs something and he's afraid he's awakened her, but she quiets and snuggles deeper into the pillow.

Cam keeps himself occupied straightening up around the room while she sleeps until Adria begins to make noise. He picks her up gingerly, still not entirely sure what he's doing, and she must sense it. She continues fussing, and he doesn't want to wake Vala.

He spots a small carrier that's being used to hold a stack of cloths at the moment. He moves the cloths out of the way and puts Adria into the carrier. Looking around, he doesn't see much in the way of supplies, but there are diapers and he figures babies go through those pretty quickly so he might need a couple.

He shuts the door quietly behind him, heading down the hall toward his office.

The clacking of the keys as he types seems to amuse her. He's using one finger so that he can hold her up to watch. The bright screen makes her blink but seems to fascinate her as the letters pop up on it. She's watching intently and he's writing the slowest report of all time when Sam pops her head in.

"You're a kidnapper now, I see." She leans over and brushes the tuft of hair with her palm. The child is still all wrinkle and blob, but she can see her starting to gain some of her mothers features. She doesn't doubt she'll grow into a beauty.

"I went to see her at lunch and she didn't look good. Got her some food and told her to sleep. I took this one out when she started to fuss. Moms need their beauty sleep, too. Don't they little princess?" Cam doesn't think, just gently kisses the crown of her head.

"She seems taken by you." Sam leans against the edge of his desk and makes faces at the baby.

"Of course she is, Carter. Have you met me? I'm all wit, charm and roguish good looks."

He deserves the light punch she delivers to his shoulder which also seems to delight Adria. She lets loose a gargled giggle. Which makes both Sam and Cam look on adoringly. The strong smell that follows makes their expressions dull, however.

"Good thing she's got such a handsome man around to change that diaper." She waves her hand in front of her nose. "We also aren't as amusing as we thought."

Sam doesn't waste much time making a hasty exit once the diaper fumes really start to hit. She gives Cam an apologetic smile on her way out the door. "You two have fun!"

"Uh huh," Cam mutters. "Fun. Riiiiiight."

He picks up one of the diapers, and then eyes Adria contemplatively. "At least you don't have a hose."

He uses his desk as a surface, trying hard not to gag at what he finds inside the diaper. He uses one of the wipes to clean her off and then puts the new diaper on. At least that part is easy enough to figure out.

Unsure what to do with the dirty diaper, he ducks into the hallway and drops it into one of the waste bins. He feels every sympathy for the person that has to change that later, but he doesn't want it in his office.

"We gotta talk about this." Cam reattaches her onesie and wraps her back up in the fleece blanket. "You should hold off on that kinda thing until your mom is awake."

Adria just looks at him and waves her fists around.

"That desk can't be that comfy." She doesn't seem to mind as her feet join her hands and displace the nice wrap job that he'd just completed. "Hey, didn't like how I did that?"

She makes some more sounds and seems happy enough. He bends his head down and blows on her belly. She smells sweet and soft and her giggle tickles his ears as the rumble of his lips vibrate against her belly.

"You're not so hard to take care of are you?"

Cam picks her up and puts her back in her carrier, and puts that on his desk so he can get some actual work done.

He still spends half his time making faces at her until she falls asleep.

Sam comes back to check on him once she's given it long enough to ensure the diaper stench has cleared out, but Cam holds a finger in front of his mouth and points to the sleeping baby. Sam gives him a thumbs up and leaves again.

Cam gets lost in the reports he's skimming through, so much so that he doesn't even notice when Vala runs in the room wild-eyed. "Where's-"

"Hey, honey, the little princess and I were just doing some paperwork."

Vala races into the room and flies over to the carrier. Her hand presses over her heart and the pounding begins to slow.

"I woke up and you were gone and I checked her crib and..." She sniffles and wipes at the tears. "I got scared that they took her."

Cam realizes he didn't think of what she would assume when she woke up. Perhaps he didn't imagine being gone long enough for her to wake up.

He stands up and goes around the desk behind Vala. He doesn't think, he just pulls her into a hug and she falls against him. His hands rub her back and pull her tightly into his chest.

"I didn't think. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to give you time to sleep. The little tyke and I were amusing ourselves quite well. We even survived a diaper change." He feels her relaxing.

"She's probably hungry by now." Vala turns her head, which is still resting against Cam's shoulder, to look at her sleeping child.

"She just went to sleep. You should go get more. We'll come find you when she needs to eat."

She's torn. Something woke her, she'd been deep asleep and pulled from her slumber by a feeling. When she found the baby gone, she'd panicked. It's still lingering in her body, but the fatigue is there as well and she knows that another couple hours wouldn't hurt.

"Go on," Cam says, trying to reassure her. "As soon as she wakes up, I'll come get you so you can feed her, okay?"

"As soon as she wakes up," Vala repeats.

Cam nods and then gives her a gentle little push. "Go on. Sleep."

She still looks hesitant, but his touch seems to jar her. "Alright."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 2**

CHAPTER 2

True to his word, as soon as Adria starts to howl, Cam gathers her up and takes her back to Vala. Luckily, it's been a couple of hours and he's sure even that makes a world of difference to Vala.

The baby isn't quite wailing when he gets to the room. He sets her on the floor and kneels in front of Vala. She's draped over the edge of the bed, one arm touching the floor. Her face is slack with sleep and he feels terrible for waking her already, but this is one thing he can't do for her.

His finger draws down the hollow of her cheek. "Wake up, Vala."

Adria picks that time to let a loud scream out and interrupting Cam from letting her come to gently. Vala bolts upwards and almost falls from the bed, disoriented from being startled from deep sleep.

"Adria!" Her voice cracks and she blinks hard to try to find her child. The distress in the squall making Vala worried.

"Hey, she's right here." Cam pulls her from the child seat and sets her in Vala's arms. "She's hungry and demanding to be fed immediately. She really is just like you."

Vala manages a laugh, if somewhat distracted.

She takes Adria from Cam and the baby is comforted, somehow sensing the nearness of her favorite food source. She's still whimpering and letting her displeasure be known but that stops when Vala tugs open the button up shirt she's wearing and lets Adria start to root for her nipple.

"Uh," Cam stammers, turning his eyes away because suddenly he has no idea where he's supposed to look.

Vala is oblivious to his discomfort. She cups her breast to offer the babe her nipple and when she latches on and starts to suckle, she looks up.

"Is something wrong Cameron?" He looks feverish. If he's sick he shouldn't be around her and the baby. "Are you feeling well?"

"I..." He backs towards the door trying to look anywhere except at the pale white slope of her breast. "I should go..."

Vala catches on, but continues to play dumb. "Why? I was really enjoying conversation with someone that can actually speak back."

"Well, you're, uh..." He scratches his nose and then points. "Exposed."

She glances down as if this is a revelation to her. "Why, Cameron, I'm quite sure at some point in your life you've seen a bared breast. I'd wager you might have even seen two."

"Yeah, but..." He realizes then that she's yanking his chain, and rolls his eyes at her.

"I'm just feeding her. Come, stay. You'd be doing me quite a favor. Now that I've had food and I'm caught up on sleep... you do not want to know how long it's been since I've had a proper bath and not just a quick trip in to scrub off the most recent layer of baby spit."

Cam cringes at the mental image that gives him. "Fine, okay."

"So..." Vala tries to move past the fog that's still clouding her brain. Now that she has him here, what should she do with him. "What did you do today?"

He's still standing by the door. Sitting on the bed seems like the least viable option. He'll be too close to her nakedness and he's sure that he'll enjoy that far more than he should. So he leans against the wall. Vala gives him a strange look and her eyes shift to the spot next to her. He can't, not yet.

"Well, I taught her about mission reports and the qwerty keyboard. Sam came in and impressed her with the number of faces she could make. It must have to do with all the physics she knows..."

Vala smiles and chuckles. She misses the team. She didn't know how much until they came for her. If they hadn't she'd probably be dead right now.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Her face fell from some thought that crossed her mind and he didn't know what he said. Without thought he moves across the room and takes her free hand. "Everything okay? My jokes aren't that bad, are they?"

She forces a smile, trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong. She needs to shift Adria and it's a good excuse to pull her hand away from his without it being obvious that she is just evading the touch.

"Your jokes are just as bad as they've always been," she replies, attempting diplomacy.

He laughs. "I see, I see. So why the long face then?"

"Long face?"

"Why do you look sad?"

She shrugs, switching Adria to the other side. Only after a few seconds does she remember to tug the shirt up to cover the nipple showing. "I'm glad I'm here."

Cam thinks he understands what she means. "I bet any place is better than that Ori village."

"No, not any place. I've been a lot worse places than that before." She touches Adria's cheek as she suckles and thanks every god that might be listening that she's able to feed her without gun fire flying above her head. "This is one of the best places I've ever wound up..."

Cam's surprised at his mistake. It's easy to forget everything that she's been through in her life. She's so jovial and easy going, imaging her as Qetesh or how the aftermath of being the Gou'ald host effected her is hard to picture.

"We're glad to have you." He squeezes her knee in a comforting gesture.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be welcome, but I'm grateful for this time. To be able to get myself back on my feet after her birth." Her eyes fill with tears. She would blame it on fatigue but she's just had hours of rest. "Sorry." Her hand brushes the tears away before they start to fall. "Hormones or something."

"Well, you're here now." He thinks about trying in some way to reassure her, but the truth is that he has no idea how long Landry plans on letting her stay around.

She could be valuable with their fight with the Ori. They've barely had time to check out the tips they've already gotten, but at some point they might need her and he thinks he can justify keeping her here at least until this battle is finished.

He decides to talk to General Landry about it, but doesn't say anything to Vala, yet. He doesn't want to get her hopes up or make any promises that he can't keep.

Adria's eyes begin to close and her mouth gradually stops working so intently on Vala. "All done?" Vala murmurs, pulling her away. She holds her up and pats her gently until Adria emits a gurgling little burp. "She'll fall asleep soon, but she's already learned how to fight it."

"Well, I'll take her while you go get clean," Cam says, already spotting another little drool stain forming.

"How clean are we talking here?" She wants to stand in the shower for a day but she feels like she's already overused his kindness. He's not the father, he doesn't owe her anything, and yet he's spent most of his day watching the girl.

He pulls Adria into his arms and rocks the tiny child. He can smell the sweet scent of warm milk on her and it makes him smile.

"Go shower. Take as long as you want."

She's out of bed in an instant and runs to the bathroom.

Cam turns to walk the baby over to the bassinet. Suddenly his face is being pulled around and warm lips are brushing his cheek.

"Thank you, Cameron. I don't know if I'll be able to return the favor, ever." With the kiss of gratitude, she rushes back into the adjoining bathroom and shuts the door.

He hears the shower running and Adria makes a mumbly sleep sound on his shoulder. He gently lowers her into her bed. Then he settles into Vala's. He grins at the sound of her singing. There is no TV in here, something he thinks needs to change, but he finds some magazines.

Great Cosmo... He sighs and starts flipping through to keep himself busy. Maybe he'll learn something.

SG-1 is only out in the field for two days the next time. Jackson's brains are better spent trying to crack certain Ancient clues they've found, and Sam always has a list of things she needs to do that is a mile long.

Some days, Cam's glad he isn't any sort of genius. "Gives me plenty of time to spend with my favorite girl," he says to Adria, reaching out and tapping her nose with his finger. Her eyes cross slightly as she tries to focus on his finger, and it makes him laugh.

She kicks her feet around but doesn't cry, which he already recognizes as a good sign. She's not temperamental, but she's also not afraid to let him know when she wants something - very, very vocally.

"Just like mama," he says, finishing the thought out loud.

And speaking of mama - Vala walks into the base cafeteria looking refreshed. "Ooh, there's my little one."

Adria reacts to Vala's voice, her eyes wide and looking around until she focuses on the familiar face.

"We're just chatting." Cam stops her as she moves to sit down. "Go get food first. I'll hold her while you eat."

"I think someone just doesn't want to give up the baby..." Vala offers him a sly smile but isn't going to argue. She knows now that the ability to eat a meal and just concentrate on the food is a luxury these days.

Cam just waves her off and goes back to talking to Adria.

"I was thinking about painting my office, sweetie, what do you think blue or lighter blue?" She waves her fist a little before stuffing it into her mouth and sucking on it. "Yeah lighter blue would make it brighter in there, but just plain blue is more manly."

"You'll need to go pretty dark blue to make up for the manliness you're losing chatting up a baby in the cafeteria." Daniel sets his tray down by Cam and sits. "Found someone more on your intellect level, eh?"

"Say what you will, she's gonna be smarter than us all," Cam says. "Ain't that right, sunshine?"

He sees Daniel look at the baby, and doesn't miss the flash of worry there.

Vala says the Ori gave her this baby. No one knows what this child will turn into, and that's actually been her saving grace at the moment. If she is a weapon of the Ori, Homeworld Security wants to keep her close. Vala couldn't go anywhere right now if she tried... at least not with Adria.

Cam hasn't told her that yet, though. He's not sure how she'd react to it.

"What are you doing with her, anyway?" Daniel asks, lifting a forkful of whatever the special mystery meat of the day is to his mouth. "Where's Vala?"

"Right here, darling! If I'd known you were missing me, I'd have lingered less around the dessert table." Vala slides into the seat beside Cam. "Actually, that's a lie, I wouldn't have. The selection today is quite impressive."

Cam looks at the three slices of cake on the tray. "Obviously."

"What? You're the one always hounding me to eat more." She sticks her fork into the closest piece of cake and shoves a large bite into her mouth. She moans her satisfaction as the sugar dissolves on her tongue.

"Yes, but real food. I don't want to be chasing this one around when she gets old enough to crawl because she's working off the sugar high from her mom's insatiable need to eat every dessert on the table."

Vala stares at him for a second and blinks. He's suggested that he's going to be watching her baby for a while in that sentence and she doesn't know if he understands what he's just implied. He's already back talking to Adria about how unfortunate it is that her mother only wants to eat sugar.

"I'm just trying to help you." She recovers her wits, reaches over and pats his belly. "Chasing her around will only help with the developing gut on an old man."

Daniel laughs at the statement, both of them turn to look at him having forgotten he was there.

Vala peers over at him. "You could use the exercise too, darling. Perhaps you'd like a turn next?"

"Oh no. I can't even handle watching her mother, let alone that wiggly bundle of miniature Vala." Daniel checks his watch and stands up. He doesn't like where the conversation is leading. "Time to get back to the lab. Timed experiment and all..."

"He does realize that we know he doesn't actually do experiments, right?" Vala licks icing off of her fingertip.

"You know, I don't think he really cares," Cam says. "I guess I can't blame him too much. Everyone around here has a lot on their minds lately."

"How is it going?" She asks quietly. She hasn't sat in on any of the briefing since she's returned, though Cam knows that needs to change eventually, he's not sure if she's quite prepared for that so soon after what she's gone through.

"We're still giving 'em hell," he says. He reaches out and waves his finger in front of Adria, who grasps it instinctively. The steady grip makes him smile.

"I'm sure I'll have the all clear from 'Doctor Strict and Cranky' in no time." She eyes the food on her plate and heads for cake number three until she sees the look out of the corner of her eye. She sighs and picks up the pasta she's grabbed.

"You could come sit in with us." Cam can't believe he's suggesting this. "Bring Adria, she's a good kid, won't fuss. You'd be an asset in the meetings."

She chews her food and thinks. Is she really ready to discuss the Ori? She can see he's waiting for an answer but she delays by taking another bite. Admitting a weakness isn't a normal move for her. She knows that he would understand and she's pretty sure he wouldn't be disappointed in her. It's still hard to tell him she doesn't want to face it again yet.

"I'm not...I'm not sure that the General would appreciate a baby in the crowd. No matter how quiet she is most of the time. It's like a jinx to say that kind of thing. She'll be squalling the whole meeting first time I'm back. That wouldn't be good for my rep." The poor excuse falls easily from her tongue. While she knows no one would truly mind her having to comfort her baby, she doesn't want to be the cause of people wasting time in the conference room when they could be out fighting.

Cam senses that he's not getting the whole story but he lets it drop. Adria and he play thumb war while they eat in relative quiet. Every once in awhile he'll reach for a bit of food from Vala's plate which she'll playfully bat at his hand for.

Soon Vala's tray is well picked over and Adria is starting to fuss constantly. Cam tries all the tricks he's picked up but eventually nothing is calming her. She's hungry and wants her mother.

Cam picks her up and hands her over to Vala. Adria quiets, but only for a few minutes. Sighing, Vala looks around contemplatively, then at Cam.

"Uh, bad idea," Cam says, already able to tell what she's thinking. "I think lunchtime for the squirt needs to happen behind clothes doors."

"Well, then you can come keep me company," Vala says, giving him a wide and charming smile.

He knows there are probably other more pressing things he needs to get to, but he's developed a recent habit of being a complete pushover when it comes to Vala. It's not so much that she holds any special sway over him, as it is that he's just realizing he actually really enjoys talking to her.

He follows her down the hall to her quarters, holding the baby carrier while Vala actually carries Adria. He looks down at it, noticing not for the first time that it's obviously secondhand. The wheels in his mind start to spin.

When they enter the room Cam looks at other things. He sees that the crib has mismatched parts and duct tape precariously holds the side together. That certainly won't be safe when she starts moving herself around. The dirty baby clothes on the bed are worn in places and some are stitched up.

"Where'd you get all the baby stuff?" He looks at her just as she settles on the bed and pulls her shirt open. His face turns a slight shade of red but he's starting to get used to the sight of her naked breasts. He can't say she's hard on the eyes.

"Donations, mostly." The baby starts suckling and that grabs her attention. "There you go darling, lunch is on me today."

"Not much in the way of newish donations..." Cam picks up some of the stuffed toys. The fluff is matted down and it looks more like something a dog would like to play with.

"It's what they had." Vala just strokes Adria's hair as she eats. "I'm grateful for anything at all. I wasn't really prepared jumping galaxies and all that."

"I suppose."

Cam knocks on Sam's door later that afternoon.

"Hi," she says, distracted as always with some bit of alien technology she's currently dissecting.

Cam thinks this particular bit of technology looks a bit like a VHS player, but he decides to keep that groundbreaking observation to himself. "I got a favor to ask."

"Sure, what is it?" She asks, looking up at him finally.

He's pretty sure if she knew what he was going to ask, she wouldn't be so quick to agree. "Think you could babysit for me - well, for Vala - on Saturday?"

Confusion crosses over her face, something he doesn't see very often. "Baby... sit?"

"Yeah, you know, there's a baby, it sits, you sit..." He makes a vague hand gesture. "I mean, she's an infant, she doesn't do much, not like you have to chase her around..."

"But... she's a baby," Sam repeats again, as if there's something here Cam isn't getting.

"You have experience with kids. You practically raised Cassie, right?"

"Cassie was old enough to feed herself, take care of her own bodily functions, and tell me exactly what it was she wanted from me," Sam points out.

"Adria can do some of... No, well she can make noises and you can guess what they mean." Cam brings out the big guns. "I've got a mission to extract some really high tech cool stuff lined up if you do this for me... if not, it might get lost in the back of the stack..."

"You're resorting to blackmail now?" Sam crosses her arms against her chest and gives him her best glare.

Cam doesn't budge, he wants this for Vala. "It's shiny and really, really awesome. I've seen pictures, nothing like it here yet and the equations that go with it... My head was spinning from the first page of that novel."

"I'll do it!" She's practically drooling thinking of the things she'll get to learn with what he's offering.

"Excellent, thanks Sam. You're a real peach." He goes to leave but turns at the door. "Pick her up at nine am?"

"You want my whole saturday?" It's as close to a whine as Sam lets herself get.

"Shiny, Alien technology, lots of parts, big num-"

"Okay, okay. Nine am sharp." She huffs at Cam as he lets the door close behind him while he retreats. She is glad she can't see the giant grin on his face.

At 8:45 on Saturday morning, Cam shows up at Vala's door. She's awake, which doesn't surprise him. Adria apparently enjoys a bright and early breakfast and lately her periods of being awake are getting longer and longer. It's fun for Cam, who enjoys interacting with Adria more than just watching her sleep, but not so great for Vala... who gets the squalling for attention in the middle of the night.

It's clear that this has been one of those nights from the second Vala grumpily greets him. He's unphased, though. "Gimme the kid and get dressed."

Vala is quick to thrust the baby toward him. "She just ate. Burp her, please. And why do I need to get dressed?"

Cam grabs one of the cloths and drapes it over his shoulder, trying to minimize the drool quotient involved in burping her. "Because I'm taking you out for the day."

"You are?" She pulls her shirt off and tosses it onto the hamper. Her hair is a mess and she quickly runs a brush through it and puts a barrette in the side.

He tries to look away as her bare breasts bounce with her movement. "Vala, do you have to? A shirt, maybe?"

She grins wickedly at him and pulls a bra out of her draw. "If we're going out I better put one of these babies on." The pink silk is cold on her skin and her already pebbled nipples harden against it as the material warms with her skin.

"Your momma likes to tease uncle Cam, doesn't she?" Adria just mews at him making scrunched faces as she burps on his shoulder.

Vala tugs her sweat pants off and tosses them the way of her old t-shirt. She knows the thong she's wearing will do the job, as well.

Her body is amazing and he can't believe that she's just had a child. She turns towards him to pull her jeans on and the pink triangle between her thighs disappears beneath the zipper. Cam's sure he's breathing too quickly and he turns around to collect himself. He shouldn't even be thinking about her like that, anyway.

"Okay all ready. Now we just need to get Adria ready."

The knock startles Vala and she throws Cam a strange, questioning look.

"And there's Auntie Sam..." Cam reaches out with his free hand and opens the door.

Sam looks like - well, like a soldier heading into the battlefield. She eyes Adria with something like dread. Cam kind of enjoys it, though for the sake of making his own life easier he tries his best to hide that from her.

"Cameron, where did you say we were going again?" Vala asks, glancing between them.

"I didn't," Cam responds cheerfully. He hands Adria off to Sam and starts to gather the babies things. Diapers, a change of clothes, a couple of toys...

He makes a note that she definitely needs a diaper bag, too. The farthest Adria goes is to Cam's office and never for long enough to really need all of this stuff at once. For now, he piles everything into the carrier.

"I don't know..." Vala is nervous about Sam taking Adria. She doesn't even let Cam take her for too long and now he wants to have her out with him for who knows how long.

"We'll be alright won't we pumpkin?" Sam nuzzles Adria's temple and the girl latches onto her short hair and tugs delightfully. "See, she's already attached to me."

"I don't think your knowledge of physics will get you out of that one." Cam finishes loading the bag with anything Sam might need and drapes it over her shoulder. He turns them around and lovingly shoves them through the doorway.

"Cam..." She bites her bottom lip as her daughter disappears down the hall with a basic stranger.

"Sam will teach her some math or something. Don't worry so much. You need to get out." He grabs a light coat and tosses it over his arm. It's not too chilly out, but there isn't much to Vala and he doesn't want her to get cold. "Lets go, we've got a big day ahead of us."

She smiles at him. The idea of getting out is a good one and despite her worry over leaving her child with someone else, she is excited.

Vala doesn't even ask where they're going, which actually surprises Cam. What doesn't surprise him is the way she seems to brighten as soon as they're outside of the base. "How many times have you actually been let out of the mountain?"

"Oh... a couple..." Vala says. "Actually, yes, just twice. I traveled to your elders council."

"Elders... oh, yeah, they took you up to DC, didn't they? I heard you left quite the impression on those guys," Cam grins. "What was the second time?"

"Oh, that..." Vala looks shiftily around.

"Uh huh?" He prompts.

"I snuck out once. I only wanted to go for a walk and see what your planet looked like," she says. "It's... pretty."

Cam lets loose a hearty laugh. "You would be able to evade security to go out for a walk."

"It's not really that hard. It's really quite similar to the prisons in Hetenai."

He just shakes his head. Only Vala would be able to compare a military base to a prison off planet. Although he guesses for her it can feel like she's trapped.

They drive in silence briefly before he pulls into the parking lot.

Babies R Us, the lot is pretty empty, it's early still even for a Saturday. He watches her eyes light up and pulls into a close spot. He waits for her to get out of the car and they walk in side by side.

"Oh, Cameron. This is... it's so nice of you." Her hand covers her mouth and her cheeks turn a faint shade of pink. "But... I don't have any-"

"Hey." He sees she's embarrassed that she can't afford anything. He pulls the silver card out of his pocket and hands it over to her. "You get what you want."

She looks down at the bit of plastic he's handing her. She knows what it is, having swiped Daniel's before - and, hey, she never got to enjoy that particular purchase... she makes a note to ask him about it when she gets back to base. So she knows what the card is, she just feels strange about spending Cameron's money. It's a very unsettling feeling for Vala, who never really has any problem spending any currency, hers or not.

"It's for Adria," Cam says, and that's enough to make her dismiss her hesitation.

Inside the store, she realizes there might be another issue. She has no idea what half of this stuff even is. Some things are obvious, of course - but others are just... odd. She picks up something that looks more like a device she'd see tucked into the belt of an SGC member than anything involving a small child. "What is this?"

"It's a baby monitor... fancy one," Cam says. "It's so you can hear the baby cry if you're not in the room."

"So you just... leave it?"

"Well, like if you're in house and you're in your bedroom, and the baby is in the nursery..." Cam tries to paint a better picture for her.

"Well, I don't have any use for those," she says, moving on.

It doesn't take long to find things she does have use for, though. She loads up the cart with blankets, clothes, new toys...

Cam adds more than a few things himself, and then directs her over to the cribs. "She needs a new one of these. Something that can grow with her a little more."

The look through the choices and find one that's lightweight but sturdy looking. Cam has the stock boy bring it up front for them as they keep shopping. The first big ticket item purchased, he pulls her along the aisle for the next one.

"What do I need a stroller for? I never go anywhere..." Vala is hesitant, she can see the price tags on them all and has already gotten into the realm of uncomfortable spending.

"We're going to change that. Adria needs the sunlight. So does her momma." He pulls out one that is an all purpose stroller, carrier and car seat and sends it up front to join the crib. "Can't have her being all pasty white and sick looking, now can we?"

She looks at him and then at the cart overloaded with things. No one, in her whole life, has ever done something this big for no reason. He's not asking to fuck her later to repay his kindness or sending her off to steal a ships worth of naquadah. He's just... nice. The tears sting her eyes and suddenly she can't hold back the sob.

"I didn't mean anything by that, Princess." Cam's worried that his comment has upset her.

"It's not that..." She gasps around a choking sob. "Why are you..."

"Cause you deserve it, sweetheart. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help you get some quality stuff for that munchkin."

"It's just so... nice." She tries to control her weeping but the tears keep coming.

"Hey, come here." Cam opens his arms and waits for her.

She accepts the embrace, leaving a damp spot on his shirt as she cries. Her shoulders shake and he rubs his hands over her back to try and soothe her.

After a minute she pulls away, wiping at her cheeks. He tips her face up and looks at her. "Okay now?"

She takes a breath and nods. "Okay."

It's impulsive, but he leans forward and presses his lips to her forehead. He's surprised to see her eyes closed from the touch when he pulls away. "Good. We've got more shopping to do."

He thinks they've had enough of the baby store, so now he has something else in mind for her. He takes her next door to a department store, not exactly the fanciest in the world, but enough to make Vala's eyes widen in delight. "Now it's time to pamper Mama a little bit."

"I like this part," Vala says, heading straight for the clothing.

She's handing all sorts of colorful clothes to Cameron to hold. It isn't until she can barely see his face that they head to the changing room. The store isn't too popular so the security lady lets Vala take all her selections in. It helps that Cam flashes the older woman a handsome smile and wink.

He dutifully sits and waits on each outfit. Never critiquing, just oohing and ahhing when she comes out and does her turn. She's more conservative when she makes her choices for herself. More hesitant to allow him the pleasure of purchasing her things.

Vala selects five outfits and reluctantly hands the rest of the clothes to the woman.

"Can we look at shoes?" She tips her head and gives him a sweet smile.

Of course, what woman doesn't want new shoes. "Sure thing."

She scampers off and Cam tells the changing room woman to bring the clothes she didn't pick to the front and have them rung up for them to add on to the ones he's carrying.

"You're quite the boyfriend. She's lucky to have such a gentleman."

"Oh we're not..." Cam stumbles over the denial of their relationship.

"Whatever you say dear. I'll have these all taken care of for you. Better hurry after her before she picks out all the shoes. You know how ladies like their foot wear."

She manages to restrict herself to only a few pairs of shoes - the very expected leather boots, strappy heels, and... "House shoes?"

"It's not as though I leave the room that often. Besides, look, they're floppy." She reaches over and pokes at one of the bunny ears on them. "Oh, this will go perfectly with them!"

'This' happens to be a slinky pink camisole and matching underwear. Cam swallows and resists the urge to picture her trying that on for him.

"Okay, come on over this way," Cam says, reaching down and taking her hand. He only does it to lead her in the right direction but her fingers grasp his and somehow he ends up just... not letting go. He takes her to the bedding section. "You need something to make your room a little more you."

Vala certainly enjoys this idea. She picks out a bedspread in a swirling purple pattern and matching pillowcases. Cam throws a set of new sheets in when she isn't looking, too.

She's only distracted by the bedding for a few minutes before she heads back towards the lingerie.

His hand grasps on tighter to hers and he tries to stop the inevitable. The old woman made him think thoughts that weren't there before. This isn't a date. He doesn't want a relationship, not now, not with all the work he has to do for SG-1. This is... this is nice the way it is now. Dragging him into the underwear section is going to do things to his head. The little one and the big one.

"Come on, please?" She pulls out the best pout she has and watches as he cracks. "A girl needs some pretty nightwear."

He just groans and lets her do her worst.

He settles back onto his bench. Luckily she spares him the torture of actually watching her parade around in the nightwear, but he realizes that he can see under one of those stalls. Not much, nothing indecent, but her bared calves suddenly have a great appeal. The more he tries to look away, the more his eyes return.

It's not as though he hasn't always known Vala's hot. It's a fact, just like Sam is blonde and Daniel wears glasses and Teal'c's muscles have muscles. Vala's... well... she's hot.

But the past few weeks, he's spent being more focused on Vala in terms of Adria... and, though he'd never admit it out loud, especially not to her - he hasn't been able to really look at her without seeing her the way she was when they rescued her from the Ori. Broken, bloodied, wild and desperate and terrified, and that wasn't the sort of thing that left him with any wildly impulsive physical urges. Far from it. All he's wanted to do is protect Vala and try to make her life a little easier.

"All right," she announces, stepping out. She's dressed in her regular clothes again. "I think I'm finished."

"You sure?" He teases her, but she sticks out her tongue at him. "Well, good. I'm about to waste away over here."

"Doubtful." She reaches out and pokes him in the belly. He grunts and acts injured, but really he's glad to see that she's recovered from the crying jag earlier. By the time they finish checking out, her spirits are back in full.


	3. Who'd Have Known Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 3**

**CHAPTER 3**

He takes her to a casual sit down restaurant. The food is better than the cafeteria, but you don't have to dress nicely to get a good table. It's a little before noon and the lunch rush is just getting under way. They get lucky and a high top opens up. It's in the corner of the bar and situated so that the chairs are only usable on the same side of the round table. His shoulder bumps hers as he wiggles into the tight fitting area.

"Shoulda gone some place less crowded." Cam rubs away the spot where he hit her and she just shakes her head at him. She's been whacked a lot worse on purpose.

"'S okay. Your shoulder's not boney enough to do any damage."

His hand remains longer than it should, but he finds that he doesn't want to stop touching her. He lets his hand slide along the top of her back and rests his arm on the back of her chair. He feels her lean into his space a little more as a waitress comes by.

"This isn't a very roomy table is it?" He gives them an excuse.

Vala gets it and lets herself fall back against him. His fingers randomly stroke her bicep as they read over the menu. Their drink order is taken and Cam gets them an appetizer platter knowing that Vala won't be able to go on without food in her stomach as soon as possible.

She digs in to the appetizers, relishing the mozzarella sticks in particular. "These are amazing," she moans around a mouthful of gooey cheese and breading. "Why does the cafeteria not serve these?"

He grins and watches her. "Yeah, we definitely have to get you out more. Maybe next weekend we can take Adria to the park or something."

"Will General Landry really allow her off base?" Vala says, hope in her voice. Cam realizes that he's actually underestimated her. Of course she's knows that they're all worried about Adria.

"I'll work on it," Cam says.

"Thank you." She gives him a wide, warm smile. Her eyes meet his and he feels something deep in his gut flutter pleasantly. He reaches up and brushes a crumb off of her cheek, just at the corner of her mouth.

"Refill?" The waitress asks. Cam jerks his hand away like he's been caught doing something wrong, though the woman - whose name tag reads Suzy - doesn't even appear to notice.

Their food comes shortly after, and they both dig in. Cam has pasta and Vala has a burger the size of his head.

"Where do you put all that?" Cam eyes her mouth take a huge bite of the burger. "Got a hollow leg or something?"

She holds up her finger for him to wait while she chews and swallows. "It's called a stomach, Cameron." She winks and takes another bite.

"I'm surprised I can't tell if you've eaten or not. You'd think that you'd get a food baby every time."

She just pats her belly and stuffs a waffle fry into her mouth. The flavor suits her and she releases a moan of delight.

"We really need an upgrade in the SGC food choices." Vala looks at his saucy pasta and picks up the fork she's only unwrapped for use of the napkin. She stabs a couple noodles before he can protest and brings them to her lips. "Oh this is amazing too!" she mumbles over the mouthful of pasta.

"Hey, you've got more than enough food for yourself over there. You don't need mine, too." Cam is only teasing, he likes to see her comfortable and stealing from him is something that she's fallen into. She's a natural thief and most of the time, as long as it doesn't result in a prison sentence, it is adorable.

"I like variety." She aims her fork for more of his food but he blocks her. There is a brief fork duel over his plate before he lets her win and she gets a few more noodles. "I see why that knight had such an easy time with you."

"You wound!" Cam pays her back by nabbing a fry and she just grins and lets him have it.

"You need more practice wielding your sword." Vala hears the innuendo in her words after they leave her mouth and smiles big at him around her mouthful of burger.

"Oh and I suppose you know someone that's a good sparring partner?"

"I might have some ideas..."

"If you say Daniel, I might have to hurt you," Cam says.

Vala's laughter rings out through the restaurant. It's a lovely sound. She shoves two fries into her mouth and continues to grin as she chews, looking like absolute trouble. "Oh, no. I think even you could beat him, darling."

"Well, I'm glad you have such faith in me," Cam says, dry humor in his voice.

"Not you, but these." She reaches out and pats his arms, feeling the solid bulge of his bicep. Her hand rubs up and down, blatantly feeling him. She lowers her voice, as if she's whispering a secret to him. "Daniel doesn't have these."

He likes the compliment, but he's actually embarrassed to let her know how much. He's also distracted by a damp spot on her shirt... two, actually

"Vala.. Uh what time did you..." Her hand is still touching his arm and it feels good, it's distracting.

"Out with it, darling." She adds another squeeze before retreating to his forearm and resting her hand on the table next to his.

"Adria, what time did you feed her?" She scrunches her face and looks confused.

"I don't know, around eight thirty. I just finished around the time you arrived. Then I changed clothes and you turned red. Kinda like right now..." This worries her and she looks down. "Oh... I see..."

Now Vala is pink. She's not used to going anywhere so this hasn't ever happened before. Her breasts had been feeling very full and a little painful, but she ignored it. She didn't want to go back yet.

Cam remembers that he's got her jacket draped over the back of his chair and he grabs it and hands it to her.

"I'll find the waitress, get some boxes and pay the bill. Then we can head back to the base." He pushes past her and lets his fingers dance across her back.

"Thanks, Cam, sorry about this... I'm not so good at it all yet."

He stops and turns to her. "Hey, you can't be expected to be perfect. Your body says it's time to go back to your girl. No need to be worried about that." He kisses her temple, it feels so right, to touch her like that, and heads off to get everything taken care of so they can head out.

Once they're back on the base, Cam tells Vala to go ahead and get Adria. Teal'c is waiting to help Cam carry the crib and stroller and a few other things that require putting together, though when it comes to actually working on it he seems less eager.

"I must meet Sergent Siler for a training session," he says, nodding his head at Cam.

Cam's pretty sure that's a very conveniently timed training session, but he doesn't care. He likes working with his hands and constructing things. Maybe he's a little more comfortable with an engine than a crib, but it can't be too hard, right?

He's sitting on Vala's floor surrounded by what appears to be a couple thousand tiny bits, screws, slabs, and pages of directions.

"Adria, I don't think Cameron really knows what he's doing. What do you think?" Vala asks, standing in the doorway and looking at him. Adria gurgles, which draws Cam's attention up. Her face is red and damp and he knows her well enough to know that's a recently-been-crying face.

"Someone wasn't happy," Cam says, sympathetic.

"Samantha said she wouldn't take the bottle." Vala steps into the room and starts to unbutton her shirt. Cam's gaze quickly goes back down to the crib spread out around him.

"I guess your body knew what it was doing," Cam says. "That's kinda cool."

"Less so if you're the one... leaking," Vala says with a grimace. "Trust me."

"Oh, I"ll take your word for it."

The baby quickly and noisily finds the nipple. Her sigh is audible around her suckling sounds.

"Oh that feels much better." Vala lets her head fall against the headboard. She's settled half on the bed and she wipes the remnants of Adria's tears away with her thumb. "Poor dear."

"Yeah she must be starving. Her mom certainly can't go that long without a meal." Cam finally finds the part he needs and connects the beginnings of the crib - a device he's now convinced is used to torture expectant parents.

"I meant Sam. She will probably never watch her for us again." She switches Adria to the other side before she gets too full.

Cam hears the word 'us' and it's surprising how much he likes it. He turns around and looks at Vala. She appears exhausted even though they weren't out long.

"After she's fed why don't you take a nap while I get this put together." Cam reaches behind him and squeezes her knee.

"I don't know if I should leave you unsupervised. There's bound to be a piece left over and I don't want it to be that important one. The one that keeps it from falling apart." She grabs his hand and squeezes back. "I'd adore a nap though. I feel really tired suddenly."

Vala puts Adria back in her old crib when she's done eating, and then disappears into the bathroom to change into something a little less milk stained. She has to step around Cam when she comes back through, taking a moment to survey his progress and then hum.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks.

"Oh, nothing." Her voice has a musical lilt to it. It makes Cam laugh.

Vala gets into bed, turning on her side so she can continue to watch him. They don't talk, and it doesn't take long for her to feel herself drifting off. One of her last coherent thoughts is that his hair looks very soft. She reaches out to touch it, then lets her hand fall back to the bed as sleep claims her.

An hour later, Cam stands and looks on at the finished product, very proud of his handiwork. "Now, the important part," he says as he walks over to Adria.

He's glad to find her with her eyes open, since he knows better than to wake a sleeping baby. He picks her up and carries her over, settling her on her back in the crib. She's surrounded by soft plush animals, and eagerly flails her fist at the nearest.

"Look at that, munchkin, you've moved out of the apartment and into a condo." He looks on as her head moves back and forth to look around her. The bright colors of the bedding and the mobile that he's attached to the top make her eyes wide in fascination. He gives the shiny plastic a whirl and she giggles in delight. Cam grabs her new blanket and lays it across her.

Adria rejects his idea that she goes back to sleep and kicks the little quilt free of her. He pulls it back up and she quickly kicks it off again. It becomes a game to her. They play for a bit before her concentration is stolen for something else. The oder that hits his nostrils not long after tell him exactly what she was thinking of.

"Oh no, why do you always do this to me?" He digs around and finds a new diaper and the wipes. The crib they purchased has an attached changing table and he's glad they picked that model instead of getting a separate one. Of course nothing is stocked on it yet, so he's scrambling to discover where the powder went.

She starts to whimper her discomfort and he decides to skip the talcum this round and gently lifts her into his arms and moves her to the table.

"Like the new digs?" He tickles her belly button before putting the clean diaper back on. "I bet that feels better, huh?" He decides to hold her for a bit before trying to get her to sleep longer.

When he turns he finds a pair of blue eyes focused on him, a sleepy smile on her face. He's taken by how lovely she is. Her black hair spread around her face and cheeks pink with fatigue.

"Wow." Cam doesn't mean to say that out loud.

"Hmm?" Her voice is riddled with sleep still.

He decides to just say it. "I just... You're beautiful."

Vala's been told by hundreds of men that she was beautiful, probably thousands, but she can't remember the last time she didn't actually know how to respond. She turns her face into the pillow to hide the smile on her face.

Cam looks at Adria and winks. He has an idea. He grabs one of the things he'd bought while Vala was occupied with underwear. He's glad it already has batteries inside of it, because it makes it very easy to hold it up and take a picture as soon as Vala looks at him again.

Her jaw drops and her eyes widen. "What is that? What did you just do?"

Laughing, he turns the camera around so she can see the picture of herself on the display. "It's a digital camera."

"A what?" Vala asks, though she does understand the concept. She gasps at the picture he shows her. "I look awful!"

"Now, what did I just say?" He teases. "You never look awful."

"That's not what you just said." Vala sits up, reaching up to try and tame her hair down with her fingertips.

"Close enough." Cam turns the camera toward Adria, who opens her mouth in a wide, toothless yawn just in time for him to snap a picture. "Have they given you a computer? I can show you how to hook these up and look at the pictures in full size."

"No," Vala sighs. "Not after what I did to Daniel's last time."

"What did- you know what, never mind. I think I'm better off not knowing."

"Isn't that always the case?" She gets up and walks over to him.

She kisses Adria on the forehead and then nabs the device from Cameron. She flips it around and examines it. The image on the back is blank and she starts to decipher all the buttons. Quickly she's snapping pictures of Cam and Adria. The first couple are cracky and make her laugh. At some point she captures one of him looking at the baby and there is something about his eyes. She can't pinpoint what it is, but it gives her shivers.

"This is neato." She takes a few more snapshots and then puts it on the bedside table. "You did a good job."

"Thanks. No extra parts either. Oh wait, there was that..." The expression on her face is priceless." I'm joking Princess."

"Good." The boxes and bags clutter the room and she flops her head onto her shoulder at the prospect of having to put them away.

"Don't worry. I'll help you." He sets Adria in her crib after kissing her cheek and rubs his hands together. "Where should we start sleepyhead?"

"I'll do my clothes!" Vala says, just eager to look through her haul again.

Cam starts with the boring things, stacking diapers, wipes, and powder by the changing table.

"What drawer are Adria's things in?" Cam asks, wanting to put the large stack of new onesies up.

"Second," Vala says, distracted with the contents of her closet. "No, sorry, first."

Cam already has the second drawer open and he's suddenly very distracted by the sight of multiple pairs of underwear, and something leather that he can't quite figure out. His face flushes and he shoves the drawer closed again before opening up the right one.

When he's finished with the clothes, he pulls out some of the other things Vala picked out. There's a vase, carefully bubble wrapped, and a mirror decorated with a swirling pink and silver frame. "Where do you want these?"

"On the dresser is fine," she says. "You know, you don't have to do all of this..."

"I know," he says. "I thought we already covered this. I did it because I wanted to. You deserve it."

She looks at him. "I don't know why you'd think that."

He realizes he has two options - and takes the cowardly one. "Vala, you saved us all, you stopped the supergate and that's what got you trapped there. If you hadn't done what none of us thought to do, this never would have happened to you."

Vala walks back over to him - then past him, to Adria. "But then I wouldn't have her."

"Yeah. She's-"

"Special." Vala reaches in and tweaks the tiny nose and Adria lets out a giggle.

The word rings true, for many reasons. "Hopefully not too special." Vala just shrugs. He realizes it doesn't matter to her. Whatever happens, happens and she'll just roll with it. Fiercely protecting her child with any and all means necessary. "You love her."

"Of course, she's my child."

"Not everyone would be capable of loving her." Cam stands beside her and looks down at the tiny body. Her little arms reach for them, wanting to be held. He puts his arms around her shoulder and pulls her into his side. She smells like vanilla and sweat, like grease and fresh sun. There is a slight scent of something floral that he guesses is her conditioner.

"Well most people aren't capable of loving me. We're a matched pair, aren't we sweetums?"

Cam watches her face as she talks to the baby then she looks up at him, her eyes sparkling with feelings for her daughter. He thinks he's capable. He wishes those thoughts from his mind but they don't leave. He knows it's a disaster in the making, but his heart wants to argue. There is something there that wants to keep her safe and it's not just because of Adria.

After everything is put up and put away, after they've tested the stroller and Vala's oohed and aahed over the stylish diaper bag she chose, exclaimed over the new diaper bin and how nice it will be to have something to put Adria's dirty diapers in that doesn't let the odor out, Cam still lingers.

Vala hasn't asked him to stay, but she hasn't asked him to leave, either... so he doesn't. He settles on the bed beside her, Adria between them on her stomach. Cam is playing with her, teasing her hands with his fingers and making her giggle.

"She's happy," he says. "I haven't been around too many babies, but she seems like a really happy one."

"Wouldn't you be happy if your life consisted of nothing more than eating, sleeping, and creating waste?" Vala scrunches her face up at Adria, cooing out the words in a voice that makes the baby immediately look toward her. She recognizes Vala's voice easily now, even from across a room. "That's right, mummy's little Darth Vader has it quite good, now doesn't she?"

Cam snorts, remembering watching Daniel Jackson devour ice cream, remembering the conversations with Vala that night. "She's more a Princess Leia," he says. "Need to get her some little cinnamon buns going."

"We don't have any idea what Cameron's talking about now, do we, little one?" Vala continues to address Adria instead of Cam. "Because he seems to forget that Mummy and Adria were not born on this planet."

"Trust me, that one's hard to forget," Cam says. "And that reminds me, we need to get you a copy of Star Wars so you can feel enlightened on that particular pop culture phenomena of the Tau'ri."

Adria starts to get fussy and they glance at the clock and see that it's much later then they thought.

"Must be her dinner time." Vala's stomach rumbles at Cam's words as well, "Why don't you feed her and I'll go pick up a pizza."

"Better make it two." Vala's shirt is already open, her breast free before she raises the baby to it. "Momma is pretty hungry. And no strange toppings, I just want normal food nowadays."

While he's become more accustom to her topless state, he can't help but stare sometimes. Her nipple is always hard and so dark. The baby latches on and the small fist that rests on the slope of her breast takes his breath away. That should be captured on film but he doesn't want to risk it getting out. He'll just have to tuck it away in his mind's eye.

"Okay two pizzas with everything." He winks at her and takes off.

"Normal stuff, Cameron!" She shouts after him. "He's quite the troublemaker, Adria, I don't know if I should let you hang out together anymore." Despite her words, Vala knows there won't be a better male influence in Adria's life. She hopes he's part of it for a long time. The thought of not having him around pangs her heart. It's definitely a scenario she wants to avoid. If at all possible.

Getting in and out of the base is a process but one that he barely notices anymore. It takes about an hour before he's back with a huge pizza loaded down with things that he thinks Vala will like. He leaves off the anchovies and the mushrooms, but gets just about every kind of meat on the menu.

She's delighted with it, having only had the base version of this particular classic American junk food speciality. It's still hot enough when he makes it in for the cheese to stretch in long stands, snapping and sticking to her chin just before she takes a bite.

After they eat, he realizes that it's late and Vala's looking tired again. "I guess I better go," he says.

Vala wants to say no but realizes that her usual temptation for the company of a man might fall short, since her body isn't nearly prepared for that just yet. Besides - what she treasures about Cam so much right now is that he's taking care of her in every way except that. She's not a woman that needs someone to take care of her, but once in a while... especially right now... it's nice.

She's not sure what it is he sees in her face when he looks at her but whatever it is makes him say, "Or I guess I could stick around a little bit."

Vala beams at him. She gets in bed and he stretches out on top of it, kicking off his shoes to get a little more comfortable. He turns the television on but keeps the volume low to avoid disturbing Adria, who is fast asleep now.

The squalling of the baby startles him awake. The TV that he'd pulled strings to get for Vala is flashing across them and the room is dark. Cam's neck hurts from the position that he's fallen asleep in, but he's warm and content.

He wiggles to get out of bed to check on Adria when something stops him. Vala's crawled onto him sometime during the night and her head is nestled against his stomach, arm tossed across his lap. She pulls on him when he moves to get up.

"Dun go..." She murmurs her request in a sleep voice. She must be dead asleep to not wake from the baby's crying.

"Just gotta get Adria, honey." She lets go then and he makes his way gingerly to the crib. The room is still littered with boxes and bags and he doesn't relish falling.

"'kay..." Vala yawns and starts to join the world of the waking.

Vala reaches over and turns on the lamp beside her bed. It's low light, soft and muted, just enough for her to be able to maneuver with the baby and not get either of them hurt.

Cam carries Adria back to the bed and hands her to Vala. "Sorry, honey, can't do this part."

His voice is low and rough with sleep. He has no idea what time it is, but his internal clock says at least two in the morning.

Vala appears to actually fall back asleep while Adria eats. Cam lays on his side this time, his head against the pillow, much closer to Vala than when he'd unintentionally gone to sleep. He'll happily blame exhaustion for what he does next - reach out and put his hand on Adria, cupping his fingers around the back of her head. He does it without thinking, though after a moment it does dawn on him how inappropriate this might actually be.

Vala doesn't mind, though. "She's never long during this feeding," she says. "As soon as her tum is full, she's back asleep. At least for a couple of hours, then she'll have a dirty nappy and be hungry again."

"At least she's consistent," Cam says. "When will she start sleeping all night?"

"Dr. Lam told me three months," Vala says. "Oh - there we go."

Cam lets his hand fall away, turning to lay on his back while Vala puts Adria back in her crib. Adria starts to fuss and then Cam hears the tinkling of soft music. The mobile that Vala has set in motion quiets Adria.

She makes her way back to him. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"No," he says.

"Good. Now take your pants off," she says, crawling back under the covers.

His head jerks toward her. "What?"

She gives him a very impish smile and then reaches over to turn the lamp off. "I just meant that you'll be much more comfortable without them. Unless you aren't wearing anything underneath?"

"Oh. Yeah, of course." Cam does as he's asked and tugs his shirt off as well. He hates sleeping with anything on, but he leaves the boxers there for his own comfort, though he's sure that Vala wouldn't actually have qualms about him sleeping naked next to her.

He slips under the blankets and she's back nestled against his chest before he can say boo about it. He stiffens as she settles in, but she's asleep and softly snoring quickly. Cam rests his hand on her back and forces himself to relax.

After a few moments he's asleep, as well.


	4. Who'd Have Known Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 4**

**CHAPTER 4**

Adria's been crying nonstop since Cam picked her up from Vala that morning, and while it's not exactly unheard of for her to be in a bad mood, he can't help but think that this time something is different about it. He hasn't even managed to really get any work done for trying to comfort her, checking her diaper, trying to offer her the bottle that she will now occasionally take...

He's holding her now, walking up and down the hallway. He's getting more than a few strange looks from officers and stargate team members walking by, but he doesn't care.

"What's wrong, pumpkin?" He murmurs, pressing his lips to her forehead. He's surprised at the uncommon warmth he encounters there. She lets out a thin little noise of displeasure and scrunches up her face to try and gather strength for a stronger cry.

He immediately heads toward Vala's room, knocking on the door. She answers a minute later, giving him a sleepy look. "What?"

"She's hot," Cam says, pressing his mouth to Adria's forehead again just to check, as if it might have somehow changed in the past two minutes. "I think she has a fever."

Vala's hand touches her head after Cam's lips leave it. "She feels really hot. How long has she been like that?"

The loud cry startles them both and Vala takes her in her arms and tries to use her mothers touch to calm the girl. It's not working and Adria keeps the loud wailing up.

"She's been fussy for awhile but I just noticed how hot she was when I started walking her around to try to calm her down." Cam feels stupid for not figuring it out quicker. He should have known something was wrong when she wouldn't stop fussing. She was always happy. "I can't believe I didn't notice..."

"We can't all be perfect parents." Vala winks at him and it garners a smile. She doesn't want him to feel guilty, she barely knows what she's doing. "I'll take her to see Carolyn."

"I'll come with." Cam's quick to usher her out into the hall.

"Don't you have work to do?" Vala doesn't want to keep him from his job. She already feels that he is doing too much for her.

"Nothing is more important than her." Cam's words make him pause. Did he say that out loud? Yes, he did. He meant what he said, too. That surprises him even more. There isn't time to think about the meaning now. He needs to get his pumpkin to the doctor.

She starts to cry louder as they walk. Walking normally quiets her down instantly, but now it just makes it worse.

"We need Dr. Lam," Cam says as soon as they step foot in the infirmary.

"She's with someone, but I'd be happy to-"

Cam doesn't even let her finish. "Go get her."

Vala's holding Adria close, staring at her worriedly. Cam's not even sure if she hears the exchange over the wailing.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but-"

"It's okay, Karen. I'm finished with Sergeant Siler. Colonel Mitchell, Vala, what can I do for you?" Carolyn says, though her attention is already on the crying baby. "Someone doesn't sound happy."

"She's burning up. She was fine just a few hours ago," Vala says.

Cam feels a pang of guilt. Adria was fine when Vala handed her over - and now she isn't.

Carolyn pulls her into her arms. "Shush now, Adria, sweetie, we'll get you checked out and fixed up." She lays her on the examine table and pulls out her otoscope. The first thing to check is the tiny ears. "Ah, just as I thought." She's smiling and looking into the other ear canal.

"Is it something bad?" Vala can't help but worry. She's never been sick and it seemed to come on suddenly.

"Nope, nothing a little bit of antibiotics can't fix. Just an ear infection." She uses the thermometer to assess her temperature and marks down the fever. "She's only at 101.3, so not too high for a baby. I've seen up to 104. I'll give her some tylenol and it will help with the pain and bring the fever down."

"Do you know what might have caused it?" Cam's worrying that it was something that he didn't do correctly. He's so careful but there is so much he doesn't know or understand about taking care of an infant.

"Probably just some moisture build up and the bacteria love that. They are pretty common. She's how old now?"

"Two months." Cam and Vala answer the question at the same time.

Vala smiles at him.

"What? That day was pretty traumatic for everyone." He tries not to remember pulling Vala off that ship. All the blood. It was frightening and he didn't want to experience anything like it again.

"Well, I'm a little surprised she hasn't had one until now." Doctor Lam finishes filling out the prescription and gives them some liquid tylenol for pain. "Give her this every 6 hours for five days. Bring her back in a week and I'll take a look and make sure it's all cleared up."

They walk out of the infirmary feeling much calmer. Vala is hugging her close to her, stroking her hair and rocking her slightly as they head back to her quarters.

Cam feels the urge to hold them both. Adria being sick made him panic and he isn't used to that feeling of being on the edge of control. The sense of relief he's feeling now makes him wonder if he's getting too attached. Vala can decide to bolt at any time. How devastating will that be for him?

"I left her bag in my office. I'll meet you back in your quarters with it," he says, remembering once they're halfway there.

Vala nods, distracted.

It's not entirely an excuse; sure, there are diapers and everything in Vala's room but Adria's favorite toy is in the bag, and she'll want it. She is constantly grabbing for the little plush Yoda that Teal'c gave her a week or two ago. Her newest favorite game is to stuff it in her mouth and kick her legs with glee.

He does feel like he needs a minute to calm down, though. It's not as though he's outwardly exhibiting any signs of being horribly upset, but he feels like he's just run a marathon on the inside. The meeting with Carolyn only took a few minutes at most, but he feels like it's been hours since he noticed the fever. He feels adrenaline pumping fear on nearly every mission through the gate, but never like this - something so unassuming, a baby getting sick, like all babies do - but this baby was his responsibility. Vala trusted him. He knows he didn't get her sick, knows the ear infection was there before he ever left with her, but...

He shakes his head to try and clear the thoughts out, because he's back at Vala's door. He pushes it open, much more comfortable with coming and going as he pleases by now. "How's she doing?" He asks, putting the bag on the chair by the dresser and immediately digging for the Yoda toy.

"Fussy, but I think she'll be fine," Vala says. He can hear the tremor of fear in her voice, though. He goes over to her and puts an arm around her, comforting her (and himself, too) in a more tactile way.

She lets herself melt into him. Adria seems to have quieted in her crib. She'll be happy for the toy but it can wait until she gets a little attention. The trip to the doctor scared her more than it should have. She is just discovering how big of a part of her life that child has become.

The urge to run his hands along her body is impossible to suppress, so he lets his hand tangle in her hair. The other traces the contours of her back. She's breathing slower in a few minutes and he knows that he's the one who's brought her some comfort.

Sometimes he seems to know exactly what she needs, even before she does, and his arms around her is the ticket that her mind was looking for. When did her ability to coax herself away from the stress fall away and open a spot for him to pull her away from the cliff? She's never needed anyone like this. It is need now. She doesn't know if she'd be able to do any of this without him.

She steps back a millimeter to look up at him, his hand slides along her cheek, thumb brushing back and forth along the ridge of the bone. His other is warm on her hip and she feels a shiver race through her that's been dormant a long time.

Those eyes of his always capture a little piece of her soul, every time she looks into them she feels another part of herself leave her. It's a strange feeling, one she's not sure if she likes. Right now his gaze is locked on hers. Something there draws her forward.

His tongue sweeps across his lower lip and she sucks in a sharp breath.

The distance between them seems to be closing. "Thank you for being there for us." Her voice is soft and breathless.

All he can do is grunt his acceptance of her gratitude. His eyes flit to her lips and back to her eyes. Something seems to have flipped.

His fingers tighten on her hip and he realizes that yes, this is about to happen, he is about to kiss her.

His lips brush hers once and then press again more firmly. Her mouth is soft and perfect against his, lips parting quickly, responding without controlling it and somehow that surprises him. She steps in closer, her hands on his chest, on his shoulders, moving up. He keeps his hold steady without moving, just focusing all of his attention and concentration on the kiss.

A loud cry fills the air and they jump apart as if they've been jolted.

Adria, who was on the edge of sleep, seems to have woken back up.

Cam tips back his head and groans slightly, but doesn't let go of Vala just yet. He pushes her hair back from her face. "Guess this is something you'll have to get used to."

Her eyes widen. "Kissing you?"

"Uh-" He swallows, trying not to smile, trying to read her expression and see if she said that as a good thing or a bad thing. "I just meant her crying and interrupting..."

"Have to get a sitter every time I want to neck with someone..." She glances over her shoulder at the fussing bundle in the crib. "This could get spendy. Do you mind, terribly, watching her?"

The thought of her kissing anyone else sends an unexpected flare of jealousy into the pit of his stomach. His eyes must tell her everything because now she's laughing. "I..." How can she leave him so thick tongued and speechless all the time?

"Oh, Cameron." A wail escapes the tiny mouth of her daughter and she nabs the Yoda and brings it over to her, waving it above her before setting it next to her. Her hip rests on the side of the crib and she just looks at him. He's flustered and flushed and his lips look delicious. Now that she's tasted them she thinks she could become addicted.

"I should... I should go." Awkward feelings flood him and he isn't sure what to do or say. He kissed her. He did it and it was beautiful. But after she pulled back she only joked about kissing men and he was hurt. It was stupid, he had no claim to her. The desire to change that hit him like a ton of bricks. God he wanted her to be his. How had he gone from tolerating her to raw desire in the time span of a few months?

Vala wonders if her confusion is plastered across her face, his eyes keep shifting over to her, but she can't tell what he's feeling.

"I'd like it if you didn't... I might need help with her medicine later and-"

"Is the only reason you want me to stay because of Adria?" It was important that he set his boundaries now. He had a horrible feeling that he'd already allowed himself to fall too far and feel too much. If he put a stop to it now there would be minimal damage to his heart. He needed to know.

"Of course not," Vala says, not sure why he'd even ask that. She steps forward, surprised when he actually steps back. Her face falls. "Cameron?"

"Vala, I just..." He gives a helpless shrug. "I don't know what's going on here, I guess."

"Oh," Vala says. Her voice sounds very small. She turns back around to look down at Adria, just taking the excuse to not have to look at him. "It's all right, you know. If I'm not the sort of girl you want to carry on with."

"What?" Now Cam is the one confused. "Vala, I like you."

She turns back around, afraid she's misheard him. "What?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I don't know what the hell I'm doing right now. I've got a crazy life, and so do you. But right now there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be than with you and with her."

Vala bites her bottom lip, not feeling like she has any right to even dare to hope, but hoping anyway. "I want you here with us."

"Then I'm not going anywhere," Cam says, simply.

"Good." She's not sure what she should do now. Adria seems to have settled into a restless sleep. Her hand has it's own idea and reaches for him.

The gesture moves him and he clasps her hand in his. He tugs her away from the sleeping baby and back into his arms. At first it's just hugging. Tight and secure against his chest.

"You fit right here." He meant it physically but after he said it he hopes that it carries more meaning for her.

Her nose nuzzles his neck and the stubble that's grown in throughout the day is rough against her. "I like it right here." In your arms on earth, she wants to say the rest, but instead it lingers in her mind unsaid. Suddenly it's too much for her and her lips press against his neck. She's tasted him once and now she wants more.

The sweet kisses that she places on his neck send shocks of sensation through him. Her lithe, strong form pressed to him and her mouth playing gently on his neck is doing more for him then watching porn. His body is begging for full speed ahead, but his mind is screaming to keep it slow.

Cam moves back and grips her chin. Her lips are delectable and plump and he wants to try them again. The moment stretches out as he moves the small distance and finally they're connected again.

Angling her head slightly she gains more contact. He's so smooth and warm. His breath is sweet and her tongue flickers over his bottom lips to take a deeper taste.

His fingers sink into her hair and he opens his mouth against hers, wanting to taste her fully. His fingers nudge under her shirt, finding bare skin, rubbing up and down her back. He loves the warmth of her against him, and how he's wanted this, wanted her. He gets to have her now.

She steps back and he wants to protest the sudden space between them, but she's taking his hand and tugging him over to the bed. "Vala..."

"I just want to sit down," she says, winking at him. "Don't worry, Colonel Mitchell. Your virtue is intact for the moment."

He's not sure if that's more of a relief or a disappointment, but he forgets everything as soon as he's sitting against the headboard and she curls herself against him. They go right back to what they were doing before, mouths meeting wetly, tongues sliding against each other. She puts his hand on her waist again, her shirt rucked up from movement, and he goes back to touching her - long, slow, exploratory touches, not too high or too low, just enjoying her skin under his fingertips.

She's exploring, too - her hand on his face, thumb absently rubbing against the stubble on his jaw. It's ticklish, a little bit, feels good. Eventually he laughs softly against her mouth. "I think she's asleep."

"Shh," Vala says, nipping his bottom lip. "Don't jinx it."

She's right, why did he bring that up? Why was he talking? His mouth resumes kissing hers. Their tongues become bolder and the kisses hotter and wetter. Her taste is intoxicating and he's feeling love drunk right now.

His shirt is being pulled off and her hands are exploring his chest. Her fingers tickle through the hair and tease over his flat nipples. His cock replies with a jump and he feels an incredible surge of desire for her.

Their mouths are open and moving quicker. Both of them want to crawl into the other. She breaks free and starts to explore his chin and neck with her lips. Her hand finds the indent of his hip and starts to trace the line to the hem of his pants.

She lets her finger explore below the belt. There is enough of a gap to wiggle one finger under the material. She can feel the course hair beneath.

Everything about this feels good, right, but Cam stills her hand.

"Hey, lets, slow down a little..." He doesn't want to. His body is at attention, loving every direction this is taking. "I don't want to mess this up. I like you, a lot."

Vala just smiles and kisses his bare chest before letting her ear rest over his heart. She hasn't been cleared for sex yet, officially, but she feels good and thinks that her body could handle it.

"I like you, too." She's disappointed that he wanted her to stop. "I want to... with you."

"Oh, believe me, baby. I want it, too. I just value this," He motions around the room. "With you most of all. I don't want sex to ruin it. So lets take our time, get to know each other a little more. Then we can make love."

'Make love'? she mouths it back to him, her smile slightly surprised and teasing.

"Hey," he says, making a face back at her. "Let me be old fashioned a little bit, okay?"

"I'll allow you to be old fashioned for a week or two more," Vala says, sighing and relaxing against him. "But my patience is not limitless."

He laughs softly, hugging her against him. "What, do I need to be worried about you jumping out of closets and yanking my pants down? Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?"

"You're just giving me ideas, you realize?" Vala smirks. She presses her hand to the center of his chest then draws it downward sloooooowly, stopping just above his belt. Her head is tilted down, her gaze directed there. Cam is embarrassed to feel, as well as, see the movement of his cock beneath the material of his pants as he gets harder. "No, I don't think it'll be that difficult to persuade you."

"I've got two heads, and on occasion I think with the big one, too," he reminds her.

"Yes, but..." She extends a single finger to brush the zipper, nudging at it. "From what I gather, the little one hasn't had a say in matters in entirely too long."

"From what you gather, huh?" He's amused. "And how did you gather that?"

"You've been spending all of your time either offworld or with Adria and myself," she says, letting her hand rest where it is. "Unless you're just that fast..."

"Uh, I'm not that fast," Cam says, defending his pride.

"That's good to know. Not that fast isn't just what I need sometimes." Her fingers are itching to keep playing with him. She doesn't want to be a cock tease and she doesn't want to push him to a place that he's not comfortable going yet. The ridge of his erection next to her fingers makes her mouth water. She looks over at the baby's crib and sees that she's fast asleep.

Cam sees the twitching of her fingers next to his cock and he reaches down and clasps them. "Don't get any ideas..."

"What if we just-"

"I want to wait. I know you are willing and I love that you want me. I just... I want to spend time kissing you, letting the feeling build up." Cam's afraid his explanation is falling flat.

"I can do kissing." She tips her head and kisses his chest. "I can kiss lots of things." Vala grins and traces her lips along his abs, her nose tickles through his chest hair as she explores his body with her mouth. "I'd be happy to kiss anything you wanted me to..."

The innuendo is very transparent as her lips make their way towards his pants. He pulls her up by the elbows and flips her onto her back.

"Lips on lips."

"Oh lips..." Before she can add that there are more types of lips that like kissing, his are covering hers. Her mouth opens and accepts his tongue right away.

"These lips-" He tugs on her lower one with his teeth before capturing her mouth again. "They're perfect for kissing." His nose brushes hers as he switches sides. His tongue plunges back in to meet hers. The warmth and wet makes him groan but she captures the sound.

"The others are too." She giggles and laces her fingers through his hair. His pelvis is settled right next to hers and she wishes that he'd settled it between her thighs instead.

"You've got a dirty mind, Princess." His mouth decides to leave hers and taste her jawline to her ear. He suckles on the lobe and releases it with a pop. His voice is low and soft next to her ear. "I can't wait to taste you there."

She groans, her fingers tightening against his hair. "You can't say things like that."

His next words are mumbled around the flesh he's sucking on. "Why not?"

"Because... if... oh, that's nice... because if you do, I'm afraid I may not be held accountable for my actions..." She arches toward him, wanting some pressure where she's starting to ache for it.

He stops and sits up. "So I guess that means I need to stop, then?"

She reaches for him, whining.

"I'm hungry, and I bet you are too. So I'm gonna take a nice long walk, get us some food, and then I'll be back." He leans over and kisses her one more time, but keeps his body far from hers. He pulls back to look at her, then leans forward and kisses her forehead. "I'll be back."

She sighs and drops down onto the bed, watching him walk away and smiling.

Cam walks down the hall, getting far enough away so he can breathe, and leans against the wall. Some of the passerby airmen look at him strangely, but he just ignores them. He needs to calm down. The time it takes to get food alone isn't long enough to settle his arousal.

God, she's gorgeous and she tastes divine. He'll never be able to get enough of her. It scares him and excites him. He's not sure which feeling outweighs the other. He finally feels settled enough to walk to his car. He signs out of the base and heads for chinese food. Vala with noodles is one of the funnest things to watch, especially if she's attempting to eat them with chopsticks.

On the way he sees a florist. The advertisement on the window has a dozen roses for $9.99 and he decides to check them out. The scent is almost too much for him when he walks into the small shop. The walls are covered in shelves with nicknacks and all things porcelain. There are so many types of flowers, he's feeling overwhelmed until the woman at the counter asks if she can help him.

"I need some flowers." Obvious statement, he's sure she's never heard that before. He can feel the internal eyeroll from the woman but she just nods. "They're for my..." What is she to him? "Girlfriend... I guess."

"You guess they're for her or you guess that she's your girlfriend?"

The woman's eyes sparkled with amusement and Cam could feel the burn cross his cheeks. "it's complicated..."

"Did you have something in mind?"

"I saw the window sign about the roses."

She smiles at him and hops off her stool. "Ahhh, a good choice. Do you want red?" She sees his hesitation and offers more. "We can mix red with pink If that suits you more."

He thinks over the meaning of roses and decides that a variety might be the way to go. "That sounds good."

"We have this yellow rose with the red tips... It usually means falling in love..." The girl watches his eyes. Just the way he's dancing around getting the flowers make her think he's already there. He just doesn't notice.

His mouth dries. Would she know the meaning? Probably not. He wants to add it to the bouquet, though. What she doesn't know won't hurt him. "One of those."

The girl nods and smiles before scampering off to put the flowers together. "Would you like a vase, as well?" She calls from the back room.

He didn't think that there was one in her room. "Yeah, please. If you have one that sparkles a bit..."

The florist came out with a lovely arrangement. The yellow one nestled right in the middle, protecting it from damage. How metaphoric of her... "Looks gorgeous." He hands her the credit card. The transaction is speedy and he takes off, happy with his purchase, and heads on to get the food.

He feels a little more awkward about it an hour later carrying a vase of flowers through the base, but he's excited to see Vala's reaction and that outweighs the fact that flowers just aren't something that often make an appearance on a secret underground military base.

He has to use his foot to kick out and knock against the door. She answers it holding Adria, looking at him expectantly. Her eyes widen at the roses and her lips part slightly. She seems to want to talk, but no sound comes out. "What..."

"They're for you," Cam says, holding them out slightly. "Here, trade you."

He takes Adria, and lets her have the food and the flowers. She puts the food bags on the bed and looks around, finding a place to set the vast. She stands in front of it, reaching out to trace the glittering swirls on the glass vase, somehow bold and delicate at the same time.

Cam jostles Adria, who giggles and flails an arm out to bop him on the nose. "No, sorry, kiddo. None for you. You still get the Mama Special."

She smacks her lips at him.

"They're..." Every time she starts to say something, nothing is right. No one in her whole life has brought her flowers. At least not under fear of death. Qetesh received lots of flowers, but as a plea not to execute them. This was a gift of affection. Genuine desire to give them to her, Vala.

Cam walks behind her and Adria reaches for the delicate petals. He draws her back quickly. "I don't know-"

Vala's finger covers his lips. "Shh... You don't need a reason." She leans up and kisses him. Her lips barely brush over his. It's light and airy and perfection. She lingers and nuzzles his nose for an eskimo kiss as she falls away. "Thank you."

"I got you your favorite noodles, as well." He heads to the bed and grabs the bags of food, moving them to the table and pulling out a container at a time. "Just wait till you get to eat noodles, little princess."

She glances over at the two most important people in her life. She's hungry, when is she not, but she can't stop looking at the flowers. The pink and red roses she's seen before, but the one yellow rose with the red bits on the tip of the petals intrigues her. It's unique and gently tucked into the center of the arrangement. She can't help but think there is a secret meaning hidden here.

Her stomach growls and she touches the rim of the special yellow flower, smells them one more time and goes to get some food.

The giggle that splits the air makes her chuckle as she finds Cam entertaining Adria with tales of chopsticks and her ability to wield them, or lack there of...

"Just wait till I tell her about all the things you can't do perfectly." She pouts a little, but Cam just laughs at her.

"You'll have a long list of material then, baby." He intercepts her hand as she tries to grab a container, brings it to his lips and kisses her knuckles.

"You're right, you'll be done much faster than I will be. Whatever will you do then?"

Cam lets her hand go and then situates Adria on her little play mat on the floor, colorful toys that she's not quite old enough to really play with yet hanging around her. She's content to just watch them sway and occasionally kick out at them.

He's actually impressed at how quiet Adria really is when left on her own. If she's hungry or needs changing she'll fuss, but most days when Cam takes her to his office, she's perfectly happy to just sit in her carrier or on the little play mat that he'll put down beside his desk.

"Vala," Cam says, sitting back down on the bed. "I want to talk about something."

She's already opened up her food cartons. She's sitting cross-legged on the bed, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. She looks beautiful, and normal, and his heart swells a little just as the sight of her.

"All right?" She smiles at him, patting the spot beside her on the bed. "You talk. I'll eat."

"I don't think we should tell anyone about us," Cam says. It's something else he'd been thinking of on the drive over. It's not a conversation that he thinks is ideal to have the very day they've affirmed their growing feelings for each other, but he also knows Vala and her habit of blurting things out. "I don't want to do anything that will backfire on you or her."

Vala glances up at him. There's something unreadable in her expression. She puts her fork in the carton, clearly done eating for the moment. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I don't want anyone to be able to say anything about you being here is inappropriate. The IOA has been sniffing around, they're wanting to run some tests on Adria... see if somehow the Ori weapon is tied in with her. General Landry met with me yesterday to talk about it."

"What did you say?" Vala asks, worry obvious in her voice.

"I said no. Flat out... no. And right now, my word holds some water. But if they find out that we're together..." He shakes his head. "I don't know. If they start shutting me out of this process..."

She thinks for a moment. She's a good liar, but she doesn't like the feeling that they are doing something that needs to be hidden. Them, this is all kinds of right. In fact, nothing has made her feel so settled and safe than being with Cam.

"I hate to feel like whats between us is dirty or wrong and needs to be covered up."

He scoots closer to her and uses the back of his knuckles to caress her cheek. "It's not that... I don't want you to think that's what I think."

The touch makes her stomach flip and she swallows at the knot that's formed in her throat. "Maybe I should just-"

"I can't, won't, let you run. I'll protect you and her." The food is in his way so he removes it from her grasp, sets it down and then heaves her into his arms. Once she is on his lap, he starts to rub soothing patterns on her back and arms. "There is something here between us and it's powerful. Can you feel it?"

She lets herself lean into his hold. He feels so good surrounding her, but just the thought of them taking her child and testing her makes her ill. Vala's not surprised that something has already come along to destroy this small taste of happiness.

"Yes." She tries to lie first but the only word that will come from her throat is the truth. She feels it. She's already told so many untruths in her life... "I won't tell anyone about us-"

"Thank you," His voice is full of relief.

"I wasn't finished." She kisses his neck because it's there and she desires the contact. "If someone asks me if you're with me... I won't, I refuse to lie about it."

"Okay," he says. He reaches up and brushes a bit of hair that has escaped her ponytail away, then kisses her on the mouth. "Fair enough. I wouldn't lie to a superior officer either, not when everyone knows... how close we are. But there's no rule in the military against caring for someone. Just against being in a relationship with them. It's arbitrary, but the lines are drawn, and right now the Ori are... they're a threat. They're a big threat, and you know that. I'm not supposed to want to keep you and her safe, over the fate of my planet. But right now, if they came to me and told me Adria really was the secret to it all, and something had to happen to her-"

He breaks off, shaking his head. Just the thought makes him cold inside.

Vala looks shaken by that. "If that happens..."

"If I hear about it, I'll get you out. You and her both. I don't know where to. Through the gate, if we can manage, if not... I know my parents would put you up. Hell, they'd love having a baby around. I hear every time I go home about the fact that Mom doesn't have any grandkids to play with yet."

"Really?" Vala's voice is curious. "You think your parents would just open their home to a complete and admittedly untrustworthy stranger?"

He ignores the good natured jab she takes at herself. "If I told her how I feel about you, she would. No questions asked."

"How you feel about me..." She wants to garner more from that statement. The problem is she doesn't think that she's ready to say it back. No matter how true it would be.

"I don't think it's time to go too deeply into this yet." Her face falls and he backtracks. "It's too fresh and new and I just want to feel it for awhile before putting words to it. It's a strong feeling though and I know that if anything happened to either of you I wouldn't stay sane. It's more than just friendship."

"I don't want to hurt you." She's genuinely afraid that she will. She knows herself and her history.

He kisses her lips again trying to assuage her fears. "Baby, don't worry. Just feel. Alright?"

She nods. "Can we talk about something else? This is making me a little depressed and I just want to be happy with you."

The wail saves him from finding a new topic. "Leave it to Adria to decide for us."

"She's going to be known for her timing. I can tell." Vala, reluctantly, climbs off his lap and reaches to pick up the baby. "Are you hungry now, too?"

She moves back to the bed with Adria in her arms. Cam reaches for her impulsively, hand on her arm guiding her to him. He sits back on the bed and makes space between his legs.

Vala lifts an eyebrow at him, silently asking if he really means for her to sit there. He nods. "I wanted to do this... last time I was in here while you fed her. Is it... weird?"

She shakes her head, warmth flushing through her. Her breath actually catches, thinking of him thinking of her like that.

She decides that she's going to need to revisit that comment later, when she doesn't have a baby impatiently waiting for her meal.

"Like this?" She asks, and once he nods she sits between his thighs, leaning back against him. Adria coos at Cam, and then purses her lips in an impatient sucking motion. Vala unbuttons her shirt with one hand while Adria squirms in excitement. She readjusts once her shirt is open, and Adria's little rosebud mouth catches the nipple and starts to suckle. A tingle runs through Vala, not abnormal, but intensified now that the heat of another person's body is behind hers. She finds herself breathing harder, leaning into him.

She reaches for him with the hand not supporting Adria, finds his fingers and grips them, guiding his hand up.

"Vala..." He says, voice close, right in her ear. It makes her shiver. He lets her position his fingers, cupping the breast that Adria isn't eating from through the shirt she still wears.

The next move is all his, her hand dropping away. He catches the edge of the shirt and tugs it back, finding her nipple with his fingertips and brushing it so, so lightly.

"I thought you wanted slow..." She says, voice thick.

"This isn't sex," he says.

She laughs breathlessly. "We need to work on your definitions."

"Really?" He rubs slightly harder, and is rewarded with a drop of moisture. "This seems... more intimate. You can be intimate without sex."

It's a strange concept for Vala, and one she might need to give some thought.

"I like to be intimate with sex." She settles her head back onto his shoulder just letting her body relax against him as he plays with her nipple.

"How much intimacy have you had that didn't end with tab A being inserted into slot B?" Cam moves his finger slowly around the areola. It's dark and very large from the baby. The contrast against her pale skin is sexy as hell. He wants to imitate Adria and suckle her, but he'll have to be content with the hand contact, for now.

"Mmmmm." His fingers are distracting her from her thoughts. The delicate touch is making her wet and she is already planning on how she'll be able to take care of this issue later. "Never... Nothing like this anyway."

"I can hold you and touch you and not have my own gratification set as the top priorities." Her breast is expressing more milk now. His fingers are coated with the warm substance. "Can I..." He needs to ask, but he doesn't want to disgust her. "I want to try it."

Her throat contracts as she swallows down her arousal. "Go ahead," Her voice squeaks as she answers. She tilts her head so she can watch.

He tweaks her nipple to get more milk on his fingers, she groans her pleasure from the touch. The actions are almost in slow motion as he brings his hand to his lips. He just watches her as he pulls the digits into his mouth, his tongue sweeping along them and cleaning them of her sustenance. She's sweet, much tastier than cows milk.

"Have you tried it?" He's curious.

"Nope." Her breath is uneven and she's trying to slow her heart down. When she watched his fingers disappear into his mouth, she felt another flood of arousal flow through her.

Cam doesn't answer he just drops his hand back to her breast and cups the heavy globe first. The breast fits nicely against his palm and he holds it for a moment, just enjoying the weight. She's watching him and he loves that. His hand lets her down gently and his fingertips trace circles around it, swirling without haste towards her tight budded nipple. They both can see the milk dripping out. As he draws closer the flow seems to increase.

"Does it feel good?"

"Your fingers? Yeah." Vala can't remove her eyes from his hand on her.

"No, the milk... coming out..." Suddenly he feels awkward asking even though his hand is touching her naked breast.

"Yeah, it's good. Usually not sexually, but it's nice."

He's glad to hear it and she makes a cute noise as his fingers finally reach their destination. Her nipple seems to tighten more and a gush of milk coats his finger. He slicks it around and just teases the bud for a minute. He listens to her breathing and when it seems to reach a fevered pitch he tugs a few times on the nipple, expressing more fluid.

This time he brings his hand to her lips. "Taste yourself, baby." Her lips part willingly and he eases his fingers between them. Her mouth closes and she swipes the pads of his fingers with her tongue. She starts to suckle and he has to remind himself that Adria is still in her arms to prevent him from bucking his hips against her.

She closes her lips around his finger and tastes. The actual milk doesn't do much for her - it's neither bad nor good - but the idea that it's Cam's finger she's tasting it off of definitely makes her react. It doesn't hurt that she can feel him hard against the small of her back.

She moves back against him on purpose, just to see if he'll let her. "That can't be comfortable."

His finger trails across her bottom lip before falling back down to play with her nipple. "Hold on," Vala murmurs, switching Adria over to that one. She doesn't want to discourage Cam from playing but she hates it when the feeding ends and she hasn't switched her over. It leaves her feeling very odd and unbalanced.

His hands fall to her stomach, stroking. She has just started going back to the gym since having the baby, but despite the lack of workout her stomach is flat again. She's not sure if it's really nature to thank for that or some sort of strange benefit to being a host, or maybe a side effect to the sarcophagus, but she won't question it. She enjoys being able to wear her old clothes, the things she'd left on base before going to the Ori galaxy. Those things had been returned to her weeks ago, but she hasn't had a chance to wear any of it.

Maybe, she thinks, Cameron might enjoy it if she broke out the leather bodices again...

Adria's sucking starts to lose strength and her eyes droop shut. She's still drinking but Vala knows the signs of impending sleep by now.

"You going to stay here tonight?" She dreads him leaving. Her nights are often filled by bad dreams and when he's here with her she is able to sleep well.

His fingers press the elastic hem of her pants downwards as his fingers explore further parts of her body. "Do you want me to stay?" His lips touch the shell of her ear in a delicate kiss. He likes holding her, but he's not sure if sleeping over is the best course of action for them not being found out. Someone is bound to notice that he's never leaving base or staying in his own quarters while here.

"I do." Adria drifts off to sleep at her words as if she feels better about having them both here with her. To move she needs to dislodge Cam's hands and she loathes the idea of losing the delicious contact. "She's asleep."

The words seal her fate and he removes his hands so she can put the baby in bed.

"I don't know if I should." There is an unsatisfied ring to his voice as he speaks the words. Both of them know it's dangerous, him sleeping in her bed, for several reasons. Cam's control is only so deep and Vala's seductive ways are already breaking loose the lock on it. "It's not a good way to keep this off the gossip channel. Someone's bound to suspect if I stay too often."

"I sleep better with you." She knows it's a low blow, one he won't deny her, not tonight, but she doesn't care, she just wants his arms wrapped around her. As well as other prospects that open up...

She doesn't bother doing up her shirt, in fact she pulls it off along with her pants. She's left standing before him in a pair of black panties.

Cam looks. He's far from a perfect man, and he looks. He doesn't just look, he devours her with his eyes, tries to record every inch of her perfect body to memory.

"I'll stay," he says, but holds up a finger to caution her that there is more when he sees her face light up. "If you put a shirt on."

She chews on her bottom lip. "Fine."

Her fingers hook into the underwear that she's wearing and he can see where this is going. "And you have to keep the panties on, too."

"You're no fun," she tells him, turning and finding a shirt to wear. She pauses then turns back halfway toward him. "But you'll stay."

"Yeah," he says, smiling. "So put on a shirt and come help me eat all this food I got for us."

She thinks about arguing more, but she's actually surprised to feel sort of... satisfied. Not sexually, no - but something else, some deep want she can't remember ever acknowledging was even there, now feels utterly sated as she looks at Cam laying in her bed, waiting on her to join him.


	5. Who'd Have Known Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 5**

**CHAPTER 5**

He slips out of the room early and jogs over to his own to shower and change. He vaguely recalls the midnight feeding and holding Vala again while she fed Adria. He is hoping that it will become a frequent position for them now. He enjoys being a bigger part of the feeding process.

Once he's ready, he hops over to the cafeteria and browses the breakfast selections. They have a lot of dull and boring food this morning. He finally decides on a good helping of bacon, knowing Vala will appreciate the greasy meat, a large stack of pancakes and some muffins. He nabs a couple bottles of orange juice and hurries back to them.

The shower is running when he arrives and Adria is kicking around contentedly in her crib out of synch to the music of the mobile, but she's clearly trying to learn rhythm.

"I'll have to take you dancing, sweet cakes. Make sure you know where to let boys put their hands and where to knee them if they don't follow directions." He leans in and kisses her forehead before spreading out the food.

He's already digging into his share of hot cakes when the water shuts off. A few minutes later a very naked Vala enters the room. His mouth is open for his next bite when he looks up and sees her. His fork clangs as it's dropped onto the plate.

She almost screams when she sees him there until her brain registers that it's him. "Cameron Mitchell!"

"Good thing I'm not someone else..." A flare of jealousy flutters to life in his belly.

Vala just huffs. "Most people don't just let themselves into my quarters..."

"You don't normally complain when I bring you food," Cam points out.

"And you normally tell me to put some clothes on when I'm naked," Vala responds. She holds her towel and starts to slowly dry off.

"That was before."

"So, now..." She takes a few steps toward him, absently twisting her towel. Once it's fully twisted she grasps an end in each hand and then loops it around his neck. She's standing right in front of him, still very naked. "You want to see me naked?"

"Oh, I wanted to see you naked before." He puts his hands on her waist, just barely touching the swell of her ass. "I just thought I wasn't allowed."

"Well," Vala murmurs, kneeling on the bed straddling his thighs. He keeps his eyes on hers. "You should have just asked."

He leans forward and brings their mouths together, kissing her. His hands even get in a grope, squeezing both cheeks of her ass, before pulling back. "Before, I told you to go put on clothes because it hurt to want you. Now, I'm going to tell you to go put on clothes because I want you so bad it hurts."

She snickers and slides off of his lap, heading over to her closet where she actually listens to the request and puts something on. "Very nice, Colonel Mitchell."

"I'm quite the charmer, I hear." He digs back into his breakfast trying his best to not watch her dress.

"I'll have to be careful not to fall under the spell of your suave ways." She finds a comfy t-shirt and slips into it, foregoing a bra, panties and some sweat pants follow. "Okay, all dressed and ready to face the day. Now it's time for bacon."

She settles on her knees next to him and kisses his neck before picking up a crispy strip of bacon.

"Good?" All he gets in reply is a moan. She enjoys her food.

She breaks off a piece and holds it by his lips. "Try it."

His lips wrap around her fingers, bacon bits hit the lingering syrup plus the slight salt of her skin and create a delicious mixture of flavors on his tongue.

"That's... mmmm..." Her lips are touching his now and she's kissing the sweet and salty off his mouth.

"Yeah, it's nice." She decides that feeding him is fun and is about to offer him more when her stomach growls in protest. "Guess I need to feed myself first, then I can go back to teasing you.

He glances around her quarters. It actually looks even more lived in now than it had before he took her shopping... more of his things are strewn around. He's spent a few nights here, entirely platonically, and even a few days while Vala's been helping some of the science team plot out star charts.

"You're coming to the briefing today, right?" He asks.

She shakes her head. "Not with Adria still feeling ill. I don't want to leave her with anyone."

"Right..." He feels guilty for not having checked on her yet himself. "She okay?"

"She took her medicine this morning, and ate. It was... ah... a slightly less interesting feeding than last night," Vala says, a smirking smile on her face. Cam flushes remembering how bold he'd been, and how he'd touched her..

He decides that line of thought isn't one he needs to pursue this morning, not since he only has about ten minutes before he needs to leave for the briefing. "If she's feeling better, do you want to take her out tomorrow? There's a park not far away from where I live. We can grab some lunch, let her get a little sun..."

Vala's face lights up.

"Can we really get her out?" It's almost too good to be true. Getting her off base is one thing but getting the baby signed out, she imagines that's going to be a little harder.

"I've been planting the bug in Landry's ear. I think her getting sick might actually help our cause." She looks perplexed. "Proof she needs some sun and vitamin D."

"Oh, yes!" She looks over at Adria. "Thanks little girl and just when mommy thought that you were just getting sick to scare me, it was actually a clever ruse to get us to the park!"

Cam just laughs. "Just like mom, scamming for what she wants." He checks the time and sees that the meeting is starting soon, the one he has to run. He shoves a few more forkfuls of breakfast in and then stands up. "Hate to eat and run, baby, but I've got to go."

She kneels up and presents her mouth for a kiss. He smiles, shakes his head and then leans in to provide her what she desires. Not like it's a hardship. Her mouth is warm and soft and he doesn't want to pull away. One of her hands cups his neck, holding him close longer than he intended. The other hand holds a piece of bacon which Cam bites half of after he escapes her hold.

"Hey! That was mine." He angles in to grab the rest but she shoves it in her mouth before he can.

"Later, Princess." His lips caress her forehead in a parting kiss. He kisses the tips of his fingers and places them on Adria's forehead and then races out the door for the briefing he's going to be late for.

The briefing runs long, and as things have a habit of doing at the SGC, ends with something none of them had really planned on: an impromptu mission offworld, open-ended. One of the Ori planets has come down with some sort of plague and predictably there is a Prior there spouting off some sort of nonsense that if they convert to Origin he'll cure them all.

The last thing anyone at the SGC wants is to lose another planet to the Ori, so SG-1 and a team of the programs best doctors are going over. They've even got a hand device for Daniel to try and use, though he doesn't seem to think it'll get them very far.

He thinks about his trip to the park planned with Vala, and how he has no idea when that'll be happening now. He's hoping they won't be sent straight to the gateroom and that he'll have a few minutes to at least run through and tell her goodbye.

He's relieved when General Landry says, "It'll take the medical team an hour to gather their equipment, so meet back in the gateroom at 1100 hours."

He barely remembers to stand and salute before heading out.

"Mitchell," Daniel calls after him, forced to jog to catch up. "Where are you going in such a hurry? I wanted to discuss-"

"Not right now, Jackson." If Cam is a little brisk, it's just because he's in a hurry. An hour isn't a lot of time. Even though he has his pack ready, he will still need time to double check his supplies, change into his vest and grab his weapon from the supply room. "We'll get plenty of time to discuss whatever's on your pretty little head once we're offworld."

Daniel balks at being dismissed, but Cam doesn't wait around to soothe ruffled feathers. He gets done everything he has to do before going to see Vala to make sure he won't have to cut their time short. As soon as he walks in wearing his vest, she knows something is going on.

"This doesn't look promising for our trip to the park." The disappointment is evident in her tone. She waves it off, a little angry that that was the first thing that came out of her mouth when Cam is leaving her for a planet she's sure is overrun by the Ori. "It's fine... I just."

"Hey," He whispers as he steps closer to her and cups her face. "We'll go when I get back."

"If you come-"

"Don't start talking like that, Vala." He hates letting her down and the trip to the park was something they all needed. "When I come back."

"When you come back." She leans into him and his arms close around her. Even with the vest in the way it feels good. "How long?"

"At least a day. A lot of people are sick... When I get back I might be in quarantine for a day or so..." He dislikes this prospect even more, but knows that it's better than taking the chance of giving anything to Adria or Vala.

"So two days." Vala thinks for a moment. "I haven't gone that long without you for company for... I guess, right after I got back." She finds she really doesn't relish the time away. Not just because of all the helping he does with the baby.

"Better make sure you don't forget me then." His hands move up her back, caressing along her shirt. He follows the line of her shoulders until he's found her neck. Now his hands take different directions, one goes backwards to cup her neck and the other to her chin to tip her face upwards. "Don't forget me?" His lips touch hers, lightly at first, but quickly the contact heats up. Her hands have gripped fistfuls of fabric, not allowing him free of her.

"Never." She murmurs while taking a breath and then their lips are crashing together and he's moving her backwards. The cold steel of the wall feels like a burn against her overheated skin, even with the t-shirt. Her leg moves up his thigh, trying to bring herself closer. He gives in to her needs and hoists her up, presses her closer to the wall and she lets out a gasp when their pelvises meet. "Don't go. Stay."

"Can't." The words are lost as he kisses her harder, their tongues diving into the others mouths. So much desperation. "Want to though." He's out of breath and with the position they are now in he needs to calm down. The angle of her jaw gets showered in nips and kisses as he catches his breath. He knows he needs to go but it's so hard to leave her.

For every step he tries to take to slow them down, Vala fights it by heating it up a little bit more. Her hand slides down, shoving impatiently at the vest, trying to get it off. That's when he knows he needs to leave because if they start that... well, it'd be awfully embarrassing for them to have to hunt him down in Vala's bedroom in order to leave on the mission.

He lowers her gently, then puts a little bit of space between them. He does grab her hand though, holding it and pulling her with him when he walks over to Adria's crib. He doesn't pick her up, since she looks peacefully asleep, but he does reach in and touch her cheek softly with the backs of his fingers. "You take care of your mom, okay? Make sure she has more than pie to eat, and that she remembers to get some rest."

Adria's eyes flutter but don't open, and makes a soft, contented noise. Cam smiles, feeling full of emotion for this tiny little creature - and the woman that birthed her.

"You take care of yourself, too, okay? And don't forget to ask for help." He pulls Vala into a tight hug. "I'll be back in a couple of days."

Of course, the mission drags on. The sickness rages, and then SG-1 starts to fall. It's three days in before Cam starts to get sick and then he loses at least 48 hours to the illness itself, then he's stuck helping the people of the planet get back on their feet before he goes into quarantine on the base.

It's a full sixteen days later when he steps out of quarantine into the hallway on base. He's exhausted and he still feels like shit, because apparently dying kind of takes it out of you just a little bit, but more than anything there's a beautiful face that he wants to see.

The thought of a shower makes him shiver in pleasure. Sponge bathes just don't have the same effect. So in respect to Vala and Adria he stops by his quarters first. He thinks he's going to fall asleep after no less than five times while standing under the steady stream of hot water. The massaging pulse is so soothing and the warmth and humidity make it hard to stay on his feet. Deciding he needs to finish up quickly, he cleans himself and the gets out.

He grabs pajama pants and slings them on, some socks on his feet for the walk down the cold hall and he completes his outfit with a worn academy tee. He hopes that she lets him crash there because he doesn't relish the return walk to his bed. A bed that is hollering at him to just climb in and see her later. His heart tells his head no way and he exits and makes the short jaunt to her room.

When he gets there he wastes a few minutes battling with himself over whether he should knock or just walk in. In the end he knocks. The echoing of his fist hitting the metal even sounds weak. She doesn't answer at first and he thinks maybe she's not here. He has no idea what time it really is, so he begins to turn and try the cafeteria when he hears the door swing open behind him.

"Oh, thank the gods." Vala's hand grips his shirt and drags him backwards and into the security of her room.

She smells good. That's the first thought that hits him. He remembers laying on a mat on the planet, drifting in and out of hallucinations, and thinking of Vala's scent, and Adria's clean baby smell. He holds her so tightly that she gasps. "You're all right?"

"I'm tired, but I'm still standing. Takes more than that to knock me down," Cam says. He pulls back to get a look at her and he feels awed to see tears in her eyes. He wipes them away and lowers his mouth to hers for a damp, salty kiss. "Vala, I'm okay. I promise."

"i'll need to do a thorough check of that myself later on." Her voice is shaky but she's smiling. "You were gone so long, Cameron."

"It was only a couple of weeks," he tries to protest.

"It felt like longer," Vala says. Cam can practically see her composing herself, but before she has her runaway emotions completely tucked away she reaches up and cups his cheek. "You look awful. Sit down."

"Well, you look good enough for both of us," he says, though she's right. Quarantine had been a two day affair but he feels like he didn't get a wink of sleep during it, not on the stiff hospital bed they'd given him, and certainly not with blood being drawn and readings being taken every few hours. He sits on her bed, smiling at her. "Now where's my other girl? I need to make sure she hasn't forgotten me."

He doesn't miss the way her smile widens at being called his girl. She walks over to the the crib and picks up Adria, handing her to Cam. "I don't think you really have to be worried about that. The first few days, she'd cry and cry. At first I thought it was just because of the infection, but I think she might have been missing you."

She certainly recognizes Cam, that much is obvious. She lets out a happy sound when she sees his face. "Did the infection get all cleared up? I was worried about her."

"Oh yes, she's perfectly fine now." Vala sits down beside him on the bed, leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I had an appointment with one of the doctors a few days ago. Just a check up. She said Adria is at a four month level with attention span and motor skills. She's begun playing by herself, too. It's so strange to find her just... quiet. I have to get up and look in on her. She'll just be laying there, playing with a hand or a foot."

"Hey, fascinating stuff, ain't it? And no surprise, she's head of the class. Smarter than everyone else, just like mama, huh?" Cam says softly, watching Adria react to his voice. "She's gotten bigger too, I can tell."

Vala practically glows with pride and happiness that he's back. Cam switches Adria to his other arm and puts the free one around Vala, turning to give her a kiss while Adria tugs on a fistful of Cam's t-shirt. "Missed you so much," he murmurs against Vala's mouth.

She lets him kiss her while he holds the baby. Her life was hectic while he was away, she can barely recall the time before he started taking care of Adria so she could sleep or grabbing her food so she could clean. Without him she felt run ragged and strung out. It was like a drug hit now that he was back. Her symptoms disappeared when he appeared. His mouth moved over hers with slow measured strokes. She could taste the exhaustion on him.

"You should climb under the covers, Cameron." The baby is transferred to her arms before he knows that she's reached for her. "You need sleep."

"I need you." He does as she says but he has a goofy grin on his face the whole time. His eyes don't close, he just watches her for awhile, reveling in her presence. The calm of her quarters is welcome and the soft light is a nice change from the harsh florescent of the infirmary. The call of slumber is strong but he fights it. Watching her rock and sing to the baby is just what he needed. "Have you fed her tonight?"

"I thought I told you to go to sleep?"

"Nuh uh. You said I needed it." His hand reaches out for her and she goes to him. "Have you?"

"Not yet." She rolls her eyes as he sits upright and spreads his thighs. "She eats often, you need to get your rest. I don't want you sick again."

"'M fine. Come 'er" His words are slurred with his exhaustion. "Wanna hold you both."

As if she had a chance to resist that. She sits on the edge of the bed and he does the rest, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her into the warmth of his embrace. She hears the sigh release as she settles in against him.

"I don't think she's hungry yet..." The words leave her lips but she leans Adria against her knees as she tugs her t-shirt over her head. She is wearing a bra today but Cam takes care of the clasp and she shrugs it off her arms. Both of the garments are tossed toward the hamper. "I'm pretty sure this was just a clever way to get my shirt off..."

"Caught me." Cam lets his fingertips trace the slope of her breast as she settles the baby at the other. Offering the idea of dinner as it was the reason she removed her clothes.

His touch isn't really sexual, but it is. It's as if he needed to feel her skin intimately in order to know she was real. His brain wanted that tactile stimulation to convince it that this wasn't another hallucination.

Adria latches on, though not with the gusto that she normally reserves for mealtime. Cam and Vala don't say anything, communicating in more nonverbal ways. His hands stroke over her skin as he relaxes, his breathing deepening. She's warm in his arms, against him, and the sound of Adria eating is like a soothing soundtrack to the moment.

When Adria is finished. Vala quietly moves away, half turning so that Cam can see her again. He leans down and brushes a kiss over her forehead. "Night, Addy."

The nickname surprises Vala, but it sounds so natural coming out of Cam's mouth. She takes Adria over to the crib and puts her down, then gets back into bed beside Cam. His eyes are closed and she thinks he might be asleep but when she stretches out beside him, he reaches for her.

She still isn't wearing a shirt but he doesn't seem all that insistent that she redress this time. In fact, he sighs and turns and rests his head on her shoulder, a reversal of their normal sleeping positions. She can feel him trembling slightly and she runs her fingers through his hair, murmuring soft comforting sounds much the way she had when Adria was up that first night after he left crying inconsolably.

"Sorry I didn't keep my promise," he mumbles, voice slurring with exhaustion.

"What promise?"

"Park..." He says. "Was g'nna take you."

"You still can," she says. "Unless there's something else you haven't said?"

"No..."

"Well, then, no excuses, I'm afraid." She keeps her voice light and amused. "Poor Adria needs her sunlight, remember?"

"Mhmm..."

She can tell he's barely hanging on to consciousness. "And I need more shoes. Shopping was to be included in this outing, wasn't it?"

His muted laughter makes her smile.

"Rather prefer you without clothes." His hand grips around her ribs, trying to draw her closer.

She's not sure it's even possible for them to be any closer in this position but she doesn't begrudge him attempting it. "Your sleepy head is making things up now. You're always telling me to put clothes on."

"Mmmmm..." With that he succumbs to his exhaustion.

She shivers as his breath wisps across her breast. The air is humid and leaves her stiff nipple in the cool room before the next time he releases a breath. She's soothed by the deep and even tempo of it. The covers are drawn up and she lets her body relax to try to join him. She hasn't slept well without him and she only hopes that she'll wake up if Adria cries out. She's been sleeping though the night on and off now. The first time was after she's cried herself to sleep after Cam left.

Vala had wanted to do the same. But she hadn't. She'd held fast and now he was back and she still wanted to cry. With relief and joy.

How many men would drag their tired body to her room just to make sure she and her baby were alright? None that she'd ever known before him. She wanted to show him how much he meant to her. Wanted to give him the gift of her body, but he kept pushing her advances away. Unwilling to take what she was offering.

She found it endearing and frustrating. If he was trying to earn something, he'd gone beyond it. But maybe that isn't what he's doing at all. Maybe he is waiting for her to figure something out. He wanted her. She could tell, the way he looks upon her, the way he kisses her, his obvious arousal. There is still a sticking point for him that she needs to discover...

Her eyes slip shut and sleep overtakes her while she thinks about ways to entice him to take her to bed, really take her.

She dreams of all the things they will do when he does.


	6. Who'd Have Known Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 6**

**CHAPTER 6**

Cam sleeps hard and soundly, even sleeping through Adria's nighttime feeding. He's disoriented when he wakes up, seeing the clock but not sure if 9:37 means morning or night. Vala's beside him, but not asleep. At some point she's found a shirt, and her hair is damp, so he thinks that means she's probably been up and showered. She smells good.

He rubs at his eyes. "Morning."

She smiles at him and reaches out to smooth down hair that's ruffled from being slept on. "Good morning."

"You watching me sleep?" He asks with a half smile.

"Yes." She shifts down on the bed a little and then she's eye to eye with him. "How do you feel?"

"Better." He stretches, whole body feeling renewed. "How long was I out for?"

"About fourteen hours. You must have needed it." She leans over and kisses his forehead, and he doesn't let her back away from him. "Oh, someone wants to cuddle, do they?"

"Yes," Cam says, pulling her tight against him. "I need to start writing up mission reports today."

Vala immediately looks unhappy. "I think that can really wait a day or two, now can't it?"

"You wait too long, you start forgetting details."

"I don't think you'll forget too much. Here, let me help you get started: arrived at planet. Bad guys waved glowy sticks around. People got sick. I almost died. I got better and came home to my loving and devastatingly gorgeous girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Cam grins, that part resonating most with him.

"Well, whatever I am to you."

"Hey, I like girlfriend," he says. "Okay, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't care, I just want you here." She gives in to the clawing sensation of neediness. "Besides, Adria missed you."

"I missed her, too," Cam says. "Okay, mission report can wait. But I have to let Dr. Lam look me over before I can go home, and then maybe I'll see about getting you and Adria a day pass so we can get out of here for a while. I want some fresh air."

Vala leans up and kisses him. "I like girlfriend, too." It's nice to belong, if it's only to someone and not quite somewhere.

"I should get going." He's reluctant to move. He'd like to spend every moment like this with her pressing against him.

She pouts and inches closer to him until she's laying half on him, trying to hold him onto her bed. "Aren't you comfy here?" His fingers dance along her back, lifting the thin material of her shirt so he can caress her skin.

"You know I am." He uses his mass and flips them over. Her legs spread and he slides between her thighs. Instantly, he knows it was a mistake. Now he really doesn't want to leave. It would be so easy to go the rest of the way right then. Both of them soft from sleep, eager to reconnect after so long apart and he can see in her eyes she's very willing. Her hips roll and they bump pelvises. He can't resist responding and he pushes back.

Vala's hands grip his hair and pull him down for a kiss. "Now I know..."

Her mouth devours his in a heart stopping kiss. She's aggressive and still gentle, demanding and giving. His body is fighting hard for his brain to give in. He does a little, but only to her lips. He lets her tongue tease and lick at his. He responds with his own mouth taking what she's offering. Only a minute more turns into five.

The arousal is building quickly and before her mouth can change angles and recapture his he's scooting back and moving off the bed.

"Come back..." Her hand is lifted up and she's wiggling her fingers to get him to return. "I don't want to wait any longer. What if... What if I'd lost you on that mission... And I never got to show you..."

The regret that tints her voice makes him want to soften his resolves and start to tear off all their clothes. "Hey, baby, it's alright. I'm here. Safe, with you and Adria." Her last words trigger something inside him. He wants her to complete the sentence. "Never got to show me what?"

"Nothing." She tugs her emotions back behind the wall, protecting her feelings from ridicule. "Just Adria growing up."

Cam knows that's not what she was hinting at. He won't push her. Her readiness is part of the reason he's so insistent that they wait. Soon, though. He can feel her layer of protection from hurt starting to fall. He wants to be closer to her heart. As close to hers as she already is to his.

He's afraid that it's already long past too late for him to ever come back from there. Until he can see her commit all the way, he'll hold back. "You gonna be okay for a few hours? I've got Lam and then home. I'll be back when I'm finished and we'll harass Landry about a park pass."

"I'll miss you." He turns to leave. "Kiss me goodbye?" It was a low move but she wanted to try to convince him to stick around a bit longer.

He sees right through her attempt and grabs her hand, kissing the tips of her fingers. "In a few hours." He kisses Adria goodbye and waves as he heads back to the medical bay.

Cam spends a couple of hours cleaning up his apartment and babyproofing it, just in case he ends up bringing them back here. He lets things air out, makes sure nothing is growing in his fridge, changes the sheets on the bed, and then heads back in to the mountain.

He feels good, like a whole different person than the one that had walked out of the quarantine unit the day before. He's in jeans and a t-shirt, real clothes as opposed to the BDUs.

Vala's apparently done a good job of proving herself and making herself useful. It doesn't take much effort for Landry to allow them the day, though he makes it abundantly clear that they are not to get into any sort of trouble that would tip off the IOA, and that they are Cam's responsibility.

He's practically whistling as he moves through the halls to get her. While Vala gathers herself, Cam lays across the bed with Adria on his stomach. She can lift her head easily now and gives him a drooling little grin. "Oh yeah, someone's excited, aren't they? Someone wants to go eat dirt and see what they can get into outside, huh? Bet you we can make a mess."

She's holding two giant duffles that are bursting at the seams when she comes back out and declares herself ready.

"We're not planning a takeover, just going to the park. Maybe some dinner..."

She huffs at him and blows her bangs out of her eyes. "This one is for Adria. Diapers, multiple changes of clothes, toys, books, and so on. She's hard to pack for." She points to the larger of the bags. "That one is for me."

"What? No explanation to the contents?" He sits up holding Adria to his chest and scooting her up to his shoulder as he stands.

"You don't need to know what's in it, you just need to carry it to your car." She gives him a large grin and pulls Adria from his grasp and settles her in the stroller.

"I'm only good as your bell boy now."

"I don't see bells on you at all so you aren't very good at that." Vala puts the baby's things on the top of her stroller and waits on Cam to open the door.

"It's a... never mind... Lets go play in the sun."

Adria loves the car ride. Every thing that passes by seems to delight her. After the months of the boring inside of the mountain, he can understand how excited she is.

"Poor kid. At least her first trek outside is a sunny one." Cam looks over at Vala and she seems just as enamored by the jaunt into the daylight. He realizes that the last time she probably got fresh air and sunshine was when he took her shopping. He grabs her hand and clasps his palm to hers, their fingers intertwine and he brings it up to kiss her knuckles.

"Thanks for doing this for us. I know it's not easy to get things like this sometimes and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it."

He can see the emotional rush on her face as her eyes fill with tears. No one does things like this for her and it makes his heart hurt. "Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I left my Princess trapped in a mountain?"

She doesn't have to think on it long at all. "A pretty good one. I know your military can he hard to work with sometimes. It would really be enough just sitting together in my room with Adria."

"Not for me. Not when I can do more." He doesn't think she quite understands how far he's willing to go for them. "I want to do this for you. I want to do much more, but little steps and all that."

He pulls into a parking place and then leans over to give Vala a kiss before taking off his seat belt and opening the door to get out. "You grab the bags, I'll get the squirt."

He opens the door beside Adria. She gives him a big grin and wiggles a little in her seat. He unstraps her and picks her up, reaching for the stroller with the other hand to get it set up. She's taking everything in, looking around with wide eyes at the bright colors surrounding her. A child runs by laughing and she jumps. It makes Cam laugh, but then he feels bad because Adria starts to cry afterward. He cradles her to him, murmuring for her to shush.

"Well, that's not a very promising start," Vala says. Adria turns toward her mother's voice, resting her head on Cam's shoulder. "None of that, now. We're here to have a good time."

Cam is amused at how Vala talks to Adria like she's an adult. It's cute, and honestly he couldn't imagine her doing motherhood any other way.

They head toward a lush grassy spot and Cam spreads out the blanket that he brought with him, putting Adria on her stomach on it. She burbles happily, her earlier fright already forgotten, and reaches out to snag a blade of grass. Cam grabs her and scoots her back further on the blanket.

"So, star charts, huh?"

"Yes," Vala says, making a face. "It's quite boring. At least when Daniel is here I can help him with something that feels productive."

"Well, telling us about the places we're gonna eventually go to is pretty useful," Cam says. "Saves us from being ambushed."

"Yes, you did have the gate address listed for one planet that is particularly unpleasant. The creatures there secrete some sort of foul, foul odor... it's an evolved defense mechanism for their natural predators."

"Creature, huh? You know, for all the traveling to other words, I just don't see too many real aliens."

"The Ancients were rather prejudiced. They only wanted to build stargates on planets with human descendants. There are other races out there - the Asgard, for example, and the Nox. Oh, I adore them. Qetesh kept one as a pet, the poor thing."

While they talk, Adria is still enthusiastically checking things out. She starts to wiggle her body and push side to side, and then rolls herself over. Clearly pleased with her new position, she kicks out her legs and lets out a happy little shriek.

"Whoa there, grasshopper. When did you start doing that?" Cam puts his fingertips on her belly and tickles her lightly.

"Just now," Vala answers, delighted. "She's never rolled over before!"

The fact that he was there for something big in her development is delightful to Cam. He feels as if he missed a million things over the course of his last mission and this makes up for any of it.

"She's growing so fast." He puts a hand flat by her feet and she uses it to push on and scoot backwards. "So many new things you can do with those muscles, huh Pumpkin?"

"I'm glad she waited for you. To do that." Vala traces the back of his hand with her fingertip and looks away. Suddenly embarrassed by her admission.

He leans over the baby and brings his lips to hers. The kiss is short. You never know who might be out in the park and he wants discretion. But in that tiny moment he had to kiss her.

"You wanna relax and get a tan?" She'd mentioned something about being too pale earlier. "I'll take her over to the swings. Give you a mommy break."

"Sounds fabulous. Don't get lost and don't let her eat sand or dirt or other children." Vala falls back on the plaid blanket and closes her eyes. The heat of the sun's rays fill her with joy. Someone else might have aided that feeling as well...

"Okay, kid, we're gonna give momma some sun time while we explore this massive place called a park." Adria is propped on his hip. Her eyes are going a million miles an hour in all directions. The other children seemed to have grown on her, she doesn't startle at them now. "How about a swing first?"

Cam forgoes the child swing and instead sits on one himself and just lightly pushes back and forth with his feet to test her reaction. The first real dip seems to scare her, but he does it again and he sees the pure joy overtake her fear.

"A daredevil just like your mom." He's about to go a little higher when a small voice breaks his concentration.

"Want me to pwush you mwister?" The small boy jumps off the jungle gym and walks over. "Sometimes when my mom holds my wittle swisster I push them. She likes it lots and lots."

"Oh, so you're a professional then?" The little boy's face twists around the big word but he must decide that it's good cause he nods vigorously in agreement. "Well then I'll hold on tight and you give us a good push."

The little boy can't be more then four, but he's a good arm already. "Thwis high enough mwister?"

"You Derek Jeter or something? You are a pro at this swing stuff." Adria is giggling and waving her fists as they go a little higher.

"No I'm Mawk."

"Well, Mark, you've got a good arm." He hears the boy getting a little winded. "But I think we're good now. It's her first time at the park we don't want her to get too excited."

"Then she won't sweep good. Mom always tells me don't get your swister all excited or she won't sweep." He seems to ponder it for a minute. "Doesn't sweem to mwatter though."

"It sounds like good advice. Mom's usually know what they are talking about." As the swing slows Cam gets to his feet. He can see Adria thinks about fussing over her fun ending, but something distracts her, a squirrel perhaps, and she doesn't scream.

"That's what my dad says too," His voice is sullen as if he's heard that sentence many times in his young life.

"What are you going to play on next? I think It's almost time for Adria's lunch, so we should head over to find her momma."

"Oh, I'm really good at the monkey bars." Cam looks around and sees that they are on the way back to Vala.

"Show me? I need to get some tips for when this little lady is old enough."

"Kay!" Mark races over and climbs the ladder. Cam see's that Vala is still laying flat, so he stands on her side of the park and watches Mark deftly tackle the bars.

"Mark!" A pretty blonde woman, around thirty, comes around the corner holding a girl about two. She looks at him and sighs. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you..."

"Oh no, He was just helping me show her a good first day at the park." Cam shuffles Adria around a bit. "He's a good swing assistant."

Mark pipes in. "I helped him like I help you." He's clearly very proud. "Then he wanted to swee me do the monkey bars."

Vala props up to see where Cam and Adria are and notices him talking to another woman. She has a momentary flare of jealousy before she taps it down and gets up to walk over.

"I'm Allison, and I think you met my little troublemaker." She reaches out and smooths down her son's hair. The little girl in her arms squirms to get down. When her feet hit the ground she makes a beeline for Cam and Adria. "She likes babies."

"Baby," the little girl lisps, reaching out to tug on Cam's leg until he bends down. He positions Adria so she's 'sitting' on his leg with his hands supporting her. "Lil' baby!"

"Uh huh, she's little, isn't she?" Cam says. He spots Vala walking toward them then and smiles. "I think Adria's made a friend."

Vala stands behind Cam, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in, making it abundantly clear how comfortable she is in his space. Cam doesn't even notice.

"Our little charmer," Vala says. Her words are no accident, and they don't go unheard. Vala holds out her hand and gives her a cheery and exceedingly fake smile. "Vala Mal Doran."

Allison is blonde, and pretty. She reminds Vala of an old friend - one that Vala secretly always hated. She shakes Vala's hand and returns the greeting with an equally fake smile. "Well, you've got a lovely little girl here. How old is she?"

"Almost four months."

"I remember when she was that age," Allison says, kneeling down beside Jenny. This puts her right in front of Cam, who is still kneeling. "Mommy remembers when Jenny was that little bitty."

"Itt-bitty," Jenny agrees. She makes a puckered face and a loud smooching noise. "Kissa'baby?"

"Yeah, I think you can give her one little kiss."

Jenny is very careful as she leans over and presses her lips to Adria's cheek. Adria giggles.

"So sweet!" Allison gives Jenny a little hug.

"Ew," Mark says. "Babies are yuck."

"Boys YUCK!" Jenny argues.

"She'll change her tune eventually," Cam says, laughing. "And then you'll miss her thinking that way."

"Oh, God, don't remind me." Allison stands up and laughs, picking Jenny up again. "At least this one will have a good strong daddy to keep the boys in line."

"She certainly will, won't she Cameron?" Vala grins up at him and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as she tries to hold back her amusement.

He's feeling a little bit of tug of war going on and he's not really sure why. "Yeah. I know all their tricks..." He gives his girlfriend a warning look to stop whatever she's playing at.

"I'm sure you were quite the charmer yourself." Allison can practically feel the glare that Vala is shooting her way. "Well, look at the time. I've got to get going. Almost time for afternoon preschool for Mark and Jenny has play group."

Cam reaches out and shakes her hand. "Nice meeting you. Maybe we'll see you around."

"Yes, maybe." Vala adds her voice, not as hopeful as Cam's.

"Have a nice afternoon you two. Your daughter is lovely." Allison waves her goodbyes as Mark runs off pretending to be an airplane all the way to their car.

"She was nice. You didn't have to be so..."

Vala's very interested in the word he's looking for. "Didn't have to be so what?"

"Jealous." Her eyes go wide and she's completely surprised by his spot on answer.

She quickly retorts. "I wasn't jealous. She was just... and... I just..." Her stumbling around makes Cameron grin harder and she hits him on the shoulder. "Shut up."

"So jealous." Her mouth opens and closes unable to find words to defend the accusation. Cam finds it adorable and his chest swells with the feelings he has for her. He leans in and kisses her, pushing her backwards until her back it pressed against the wooden post holding up part of the bars. "I liked it."

"She called you her daddy," Vala says softly, switching tracks, but not just to weasel out of that bit of conversation. "What did you think of that?"

"i'd be honored to be her daddy," Cam says, shifting Adria in his arms. He leans down and kisses her forehead.

"Oh." That's all Vala says, all she can think to say. The implication there is very big and very scary and right now, on such a bright beautiful day, she is starting to see the appeal of Cameron's one step at a time philosophy.

He doesn't seem to take her lack of a response as anything negative. He reaches down and snags her hand, leading her back to their blanket. He sits down with Adria still in his lap, looking around. She jams a hand in her mouth and gnaws on it, then looks up at Cam and laughs around it.

"You don't have any reason to be jealous," Cam says.

Vala's surprised. She'd thought they'd moved on from that. "I don't doubt your intentions, darling. Just hers."

"I never took you as the jealous type, anyway."

"I... never was," she admits. "But it didn't... I didn't... I wanted to keep my options open, before."

"That why you and Jackson didn't..." He trails off, a little of his own jealousy emerging. "I mean, rumors were flying..."

"Daniel and I? No, we- no." She shakes her head. "Not before I went to the Ori galaxy, and certainly not after. Daniel is a very smart man, and I saw some... potential there. But no more. My type has changed, along with so much else."

"For the better, I hope." Adria is sucking fiercely on her fist and starting to whimper around it. They are pushing their luck by still being in the park.

"Mmmm." She scoots on her knees over to him. First she kisses Adria on the cheek. Then she moves upwards, his mouth is so inviting and even though they are in the open and it's lunch time she kisses him. Just sweet and chaste. "You make my, our, life better."

They can't ignore the baby's demands any longer. "She's hungry, little momma." Vala starts to lift up her shirt but his hands still hers. "Lets head to my apartment. I don't feel like taking you two back just yet."

She doesn't want to go back either. "Is it far?" Her breasts ache a bit as her body reacts to Adria's whimpering.

"Nope. We should be fine."


	7. Who'd Have Known Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 7**

**CHAPTER 7**

He finally juggles the key in the lock and pushes the door open. Vala has the baby in the carrier and she finds the couch and sets her on the floor next to it while she gets everything ready for feeding. She hears the door clank shut and opens her shirt and bra before lifting Adria out of her carrier.

"Time for lunch, then a nap so daddy and I can have some time to ourselves."

Cam smiles as he hears her call him "daddy" even jokingly. He knows it means something to her, too.

He puts the bags in his bedroom and then walks out to crouch down behind the couch and see how things are progressing. It's always beautiful, watching her nurse, and he could happily sit here looking on for hours.

"Poor dear is starving. You'd think you never feed the munchkin." He kisses Vala's ear and starts massaging her shoulders as he stands up. She rolls her head out of the way so he can really dig into the muscles there.

"You have magic fingers." She moans the words out.

"Oh, Love, you have no idea." He swallows hard. The endearment just slipped free and he hopes she doesn't notice. He keeps moving his hands to cover for himself.

He did love her. Was in love with her. He knows it's true, but it's not something he wants her to know, not yet.

"I bet Mama's hungry too, isn't she?" Cam leans over and kisses the top of her head. "I'll go fix us something while you get her situated."

"You're too good to me," Vala says, leaning back against the sofa while Adria eats. "But feel free to continue at your leisure."

Cam laughs from the kitchen. "Will do."

He doesn't have much in the way of groceries at his place, but he had stopped off earlier and gotten sandwich meat and bread, so he grills them up a couple of melts quickly. By the time he walks back in to her with two sandwiches on a plate, and a bag of chips, she's already got Adria fed and burped, and is putting her down in the little portable crib.

"So how is she sleeping now?" He asks, realizing that he hadn't woken up the night before. "I didn't hear her last night."

"She'll go down for about five hours at a time. She cried, you just didn't hear it."

"Sleeping like the dead, huh?" Cam laughs, and then realizes Vala isn't laughing.

"I should have been there," she says, quietly. "I could have helped. Daniel can't use the hand device like I can."

Cam shakes his head. "It wouldn't have done any good, I bet. No way you could have gotten to everyone there."

"I don't care about everyone," she says. "Just you."

He isn't sure if he should smile at that or not. It's a touching sentiment, but exactly the reason why the SGC is hesitant to trust Vala. She puts her own interests above the safety of the world, and with good reason; this isn't her world. She owes them nothing. Vala protects what is her own and nothing more.

Cam realizes that in a strange way this is her declaring him as hers. That part definitely makes him smile. "I'm back. I'm here. No permanent damage done. You need to check for yourself?"

Vala finishes off her sandwich, and delicately wipes away crumbs with her napkin. "Be careful what sort of invitations you're offering out there, Colonel. I just might."

"And I just might let you." Cam meets her grin with one of his own.

"Might?" She's interested in exploring this possibility.

Words are lost on Cam. Instead he pulls her into his arms. His lips meet hers. It feels like it's been forever since they've kissed. It's barely been an hour and his mouth is starving for hers.

"Will." There has been enough waiting, enough teasing and after the encounter in the park and her lack of denial over Adria's parentage. They are ready. She's ready and oh, God, he wants her. He puts his hands on her hips and draws her closer to him. Her hands have flattened against his cheeks and he's pushing her backwards now.

"It only took me three months to get you in bed." Vala teases him as she starts kissing his jaw and neck.

"We aren't in bed yet..." Cam lets his hands slide under her shirt and lifts it upwards, pushing it over her head. Her bra quickly follows. He wants her naked. Now. He's afraid this is going to be over too quickly, but with all the waiting he wants to play without clothing in the way.

"Close enough," Vala says, crawling into his lap. He kisses her collarbone, down her chest. He avoids her nipples because he knows what will happen when he gets his mouth on those and he doesn't think right now she really needs it, not with Adria having just eaten. He keeps going down as far as he can, and she sits up straighter to accommodate him.

He wraps his arms around her and stands quickly in one fluid motion. She laughs and her arms tighten around his neck as he carries her into the bedroom. He drops down onto the bed first, controlling their fall. She ends up on top of him, smiling down.

"Now this is more like it..." He rolls them over, leaning away to yank his own shirt off. Taking her hand, he presses it to the spot where his heart is pounding just beneath. "See? Alive."

She blinks away sudden tears, blaming the headiness of the moment. "Very."

He leans down and kisses her again, moving her hand down to feel where his cock is pressing insistently against his pants. He lets her feel that, too. "Very alive."

Her fingers close around him and she nods. "I want that."

"You can have it," he says. "But let me do something for you first."

His lips trail down her flat stomach, and he pushes at her pants until they slip free of hers hips. She realizes what he's doing and a thrill runs through her.

"Such a gentleman. Putting a woman's orgasm before his own." She helps him with her panties, pulling her thighs together and tugging them to her knees. She has no qualms about being completely nude before him. He helps her finish getting naked and she lets her thighs spread before him, baring her sex to him.

"Who said you get to come?" He's kissing the delicate flesh on the inside of her leg. It's as smooth and soft as Adria's skin. His tongue teases along her thigh and instead of heading towards her throbbing folds, he's going to her knee. Now that she's naked he wants to slow down. There is a feast in front of him and he doesn't want to overindulge and miss the dessert that's brought out later.

"I said." She sighs as his hand makes lazy patterns on her leg following the path of his mouth. "I'll do it-"

"No, no you won't." Her scowl almost makes him laugh, but he holds back. "I want to. Don't go jumping the gun. Let me love you." He kisses the inside of her knee before licking the underside. Her reaction is perfection as her head falls back, her hips buck up and a moan escapes her throat. "This is for you. I want to love you."

Vala nods, she's not sure if he sees, but she can't speak. His words have her choked up. No one has ever wanted to love her. Not like this. She'll let him because she can and she knows it's like a gift she's giving him.

Once he can tell it's been settled, he follows her tendons and muscles down to her foot. He spends time exploring her ankle with his lips and tongue while his fingers dig into her sole, massaging away any ache that might be lingering from being on her feet so much.

He garners the same attention on the opposite foot and starts his journey back up. Her calf muscle is hard and the skin is smooth, she's shaved recently, and he kisses the smattering of freckles he discovers on the back of her leg.

This thigh almost seems more sensitive then the other one, her gasps and moans are more frequent and she's twitching when the tip of his tongue slides across her skin. He can smell her now. The scent of her arousal sends a flare of need to his cock. It's distractingly insistent about the need to be within her heat. He ignores it, for now.

When his nose hits the crease where her thigh meets her sex he pulls back. His hands slip under her ass and he uses his thumbs to spread her lips. She's glistening and swollen red with wanting.

There is a flood of moisture released as his head falls closer. Her hips are canting toward him and she's right on edge. He just wants to look at her. Her sex so wet and heated for him. He did this to her and it makes him proud and even more in love with her. Her labia is open and he follows the lines of her folds with his eyes up to her clit. The little nub is practically throbbing for him. He can almost see her heartbeat in the small organ.

"Dammit, Mitchell, just... God, please..." She reaches for his hair and tries to force him down on her. But he won't budge. She's so horny and is afraid and almost hoping that she comes as soon as his lips touch her. Just to bring some relief from this torture.

"Taking my time, baby, looking at you. You're beautiful. So wet and ready. It might be time to taste you." The sweep of his tongue across her slit startles her. She squeaks his name as she draws in a gasping breath. She's heavenly and he dives in for more.

His tongue is licking her everywhere, from opening to just below her clit. He's leaving the little bundle alone for now, she's too on edge and he wants this to last. He loves going down on women. But it's never been this fulfilling for him. With her juices constantly flowing now, he lets his tongue slip inside her. Her sheath is squeezing and grabbing, trying to draw him deeper. His cock jumps at the feeling. It wants that tight heat around it.

He suckles on her labia lightly before moving to her clitoris. It's hard and red and he can see the head exposed. She's turned on and her soft mewing sounds are like candy for his ears. He finally lets her have what she's been wanting.

Very slowly he slips his lips around the bud. Rolling it between his lips, just a little and tickling the end with his tongue. His chin is covered in a flood of moisture as he starts to work in earnest. He sucks and licks moving his mouth in short up and down motions. As if her clit is a tiny cock and he's giving her a blow job. Every swipe of his tongue makes her twitch and he knows that she's right on the edge of climax.

One of his hands leaves cupping her ass and he plunges his middle finger into her tight sheath. The contractions begin around the digit immediately and her hands are pulling his hair. She's coming and he did that. He got her off.

His mouth brings her down slowly as his hand makes easy strokes inside her. She's breathing hard and erratically and he knows she came hard.

Vala feels like someone has just unleashed a torrent of sensation that's been tightly bound up for months. She's still trembling, still wanting despite the satisfaction thrumming through her, but it's such an amazing thing to experience. She reaches for him greedily, wanting him up - wanting kisses, wanting touches, wanting his cock.

Cam's fine with not waiting, too. He gets his pants off and groans when the first thing she does is touch him the way she'd tried to before, fingers wrapping around his shaft and stroking. It's too soft, too gentle - he needs more. He reaches for a condom and slides it on. They've got one baby to deal with right now - he has no intention of risking a second.

She doesn't seem to mind overly much right now, anyway. She's sighing, running her hands over his back, sliding her leg against his. "I want you," she moans right in his ear. "I want you inside me."

"I want to be there." He just rests his weight against her for a minute. Feeling her silky skin beneath him, covering her with his body, it's so erotic. His cock slips between her folds and he thrusts, just short and abrupt, and catches the side of her clit. The tiny nub is still looking for more attention and she hisses in his ear. "But not quite yet. You feel really good like this."

Her hands languidly dance along his back as he turns his head to kiss her. She can taste herself on his lips. Vala laps at him gathering more of her essence from the hot cavern of his mouth. His flavor is there too and when it meshes with hers, a heady, musky, sweet and salty taste invades her senses. It's delicious.

His hips press harder against her, stroking her folds with his cock. The soft mewing sounds she was making were captured in his mouth. Soon they both needed more oxygen, so he kisses down her neck. He rubs his chest against her which causes her hard, pointed nipples to tease through the soft hair there.

"Thats..." The s sound is drawn out. "Wow, I'm not sure if it's too much or just right." Her breasts are a strange area for her now. She's glad she just fed Adria because if she hadn't she knows there would be a mess of milk between them. As it was she could feel some of it expressing.

Cam wants to play with her nipples. Despite them being the food for her daughter, they are a fascination for him. He arches his back so he can get his mouth on her breasts without moving his cock from her sex. He stares at the hard points for a moment. They are a dark brown color and he can see the fluid leaking from them. He's tasted her before, but not like this. It excites him even more and he lowers his head and kisses her lightly around her breast, slowly spiraling towards her nipple.

Vala's hand grabs his hair and she can't decide if she wants to push him away or pull him closer. The sensations are so extreme. She decides that just having part of him tight against her palm is enough because she doesn't use pressure either way.

Cam's nose bumps her nipple and that's when he decides enough is enough. His mouth closes over it and he starts to suckle. He's seen Adria do it enough to know that he's not the same. His teeth scrape as lightly as possible and she's calling his name over and over. The hot rush of sweet milk floods his mouth and he just swallows. His tongue laps at the tip and diverts the flow to the roof of his mouth. He can feel the nipple swell more against his tongue. Her body must have decided it enjoys his attention. He feels a flood of warm wetness against his balls as she prepares for another orgasm. She's liquid silk and maybe it's time he gives her what she wants, what they both want.

Him to be buried inside her heat.

It's never felt like this before and Vala can hardly stand it. The orgasm almost takes her by surprise, washing over her. She wants him so badly and she can't quite stop herself, hitching a leg over his thigh and bringing him home.

Cam isn't expecting it either - he isn't expecting to just slip right into her, for her body to find just that right angle to take him in. He thrusts and finds his way home and he sucks hard. That's enough for Vala. With him buried deep inside of her, she starts to come.

Cam has to stop suckling and just press his mouth to her shoulder to get himself under control as he feels the spasms, the rhythmic clenching as her body tries to milk him like his mouth had been doing to her breasts.

"More," she demands, still gasping. "Move, please."

He lifts himself up on one arm and looks down at them, at where they're joined. It's such an erotic sight and he gives in to her orders then, starting to slide in and out of her eager body.

He goes back to kissing her, letting her taste the faint flavor of the milk on his tongue. He already knows how she likes to kiss. He feels like he already knows a lot about her, actually. It doesn't take away from the newness at all, just adds a level of complexity that he's missed in sex. It's about more than bodies right now.

It's hard to move and stay sane. Cam's nipping and sucking at her lips and he feels like he's reached a new level of pleasure. She demands that he plunge in and out of her, so he does it. It's not easy to hold himself in check. His balls are tight against his body. He's barely holding onto the modicum of control.

Her lips are too much for him and he goes back to her collarbone, nipping and licking, sucking and biting. He's going to leave marks, but that knowledge only sends him deeper into the abyss of sensation. Even with the latex surrounding his cock, she's wet and hot. The slick sounds of him moving in and out of her body send tingles down his spine. There is too much stimulus and he can't tune any of it out. His body is a rush of awareness. Every little touch, every scent, every flavor is making him tumble towards the point past his ability to control his body.

Vala loves him inside her. He's stretching her marvelously and every thrust pushes on the perfect point inside her. The ridge of his cock drags over that special spot and makes her shudder. The motion is practically frictionless because she's so very, very wet. She clenches her muscles around him to garner a bigger feeling. She hears a him suck in a deep breath so she does it again. She cants her hips upwards and climbs her legs further up his ribs. The change in angle suits them both and his tempo increases.

"Vala," Cam says, out of breath. He can feel sweat dripping down his face. Every cell in his body feels like it's gearing up for this. "Soon..."

"Yes," she gasps, clinging to him, letting him do all of the work right now. His hands grasp her legs to hold them just in the right spot and he leans away from her a little, powering up for the end.

He cries out loudly as he starts to come inside of her, shuddering at the intensity of it. He watches her bring herself off again, surprised that she can manage one more - but this is Vala, she doesn't do anything on a small scale.

He stays there for long moments and then slowly lowers himself onto her as he starts to soften, his eyes shutting as euphoria washes over him. She doesn't seem to mind the weight of him, so he rolls just enough to the side so he won't crush her, but still keeps her under him.

Sleep is tempting in those moments just after. He can feel her breathing even out, and he lets his eyes shut. He doesn't really go anywhere, just lets the moment drift by him, feeling her around him still, letting himself ease back into normalcy.

Until the baby starts to cry.

Vala actually laughs, rolling over onto her back. "Well, I suppose it was polite of her to wait until we were finished, at least."

"Yeah," Cam says, joining in her laugh. "Very polite."

He holds the condom as he pulls free of her. Both of them groan at the loss of the connection. It's almost unreal, the fact they've made love, unbelievable, but it was worth all the waiting. He tosses the used latex into the garbage and follows her out. He sees that she's changing Adria.

"Don't dress her." When she gives him a quizzical look, he simply smiles and heads into the bathroom.

She cleans the baby's bottom up but leaves the diaper off and pulls the onesie she was napping in over her head. The sound of the bathtub spigot opening makes her grin.

"Bath time with mommy and daddy." She starts at her own slip, glad that the sound of rushing water covered her words. "Lets go get clean."

Cam's just adjusted the temperature so it's not very hot so Adria's skin doesn't burn. He hops in and starts to quickly soap himself up and rinse off.

Vala pokes her head behind the curtain and sees him letting the water run over his head and the rivulets of suds washing down the drain.

He pushes the excess water out of his eyes and holds his hands out to take the baby. She's happy to hand her over and then jumps in as well.

"Hi." He props the baby on his hip and then reaches out to stop her as she scoots passed him to get wet. His head dips down and kisses her. "NIce of you two to join me."

"It's nice to have someone to wash your back for you." She grins and dips her head back to drench her hair.

"Your momma probably misses the slaves she used to have."

"Oh the things a young, nubile man servant could do for me." She plays along. "I'll just have to make due with you now, though."

"I'll try to provide for your every whim." Cam reaches for her, the water droplets are enticing him to places he just discovered. His finger follows behind one, tracing the path down her neck and between her breasts. It trickles along her abs, swirls around her belly button and gets lost in her curls as it reaches her sex. His pointer slips between her lower lips and touches her clit. "Hopefully I can live up to your expectations."

"You're doing wonderfully so far." Her legs slip apart and give him some room to work. "It's good she's so young or you might scar her."

Adria was too busy playing with Cam's ear to even notice what was happening with her mother. "She's occupied, baby."

Adria squirms and turns her face toward the spray, ending up with water in her face. She stares at Cam for a few seconds as if she's shocked by it, and then bursts into tears.

"Oh, come on, honey, it's just water," Cam tries to console her, to no avail. Vala leans back against the wall of the shower and laughs at him. "I think really she just didn't enjoy not being the center of attention here."

"Well, I don't know who she gets that from," Vala says, smirking.

Cam steps out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying himself and Adria both off. "Okay, maybe we need to try that one again without the little squirt."

Adria's back to feeling chipper about everything now that she's out of the water. She bounces in Cam's arms, but he's distracted watching Vala as she starts to soap up her hair. It's better than the best television show; live entertainment in 3D and technicolor, real enough to reach out and touch.

She realizes he's staring and looks at him. "What? Have I missed a spot?"

He shakes his head and swallows, trying not to look as much like a teenage boy as he feels right now, having gotten caught checking out the hottest girl in class.

She tilts her head at him, eyes narrowing. "There's something..."

"You're just... you look good," he admits. "Amazing."

Her face lights up in a smile that makes the embarrassment of saying that entirely worth it.

"Want to just hang out here?" He tickles Adria's nose with the fuzzy end of the towel, and she giggles. "I can take you back to the base if you want..."

"I'm sorry. The water is quite loud." Vala's done rinsing and she reaches for a towel, which he hands her. "Did you really just ask if you should return me to the SGC?"

"I..." He buries his face in Adria's tuft of hair. "Yeah."

"Now I just feel like a, what's that term, oh yes. Booty call."

Cam's aghast that she would ever feel that way. "I... Vala, honey, that's not what-"

Her hand cups his chin and pulls it up to look at her. She's got a giant grin on her face. "Just teasing you. It's nice of you to ask." She kisses his lips and wraps the towel around her hair. "What are we going to do?"

"First, put on clothes." Cam eyes her ass as she retreats into their room. Their room. He just thought that and it surprised him but it felt right. "Then I was thinking we could cuddle on the couch and watch a movie."

He leaves the bathroom and digs out a diaper for Adria and some Pajama's. It's only late afternoon but he knows he's still not recovered from the mission. After he gets Adria dressed, he sets her on her belly in the bed. He gives her a toy and heads back to get some pants on.

"I like when clothing is more... optional..." Vala has one of his dress shirts on, but it's not buttoned yet as she turns around. She looks down at the shirt and lets it slide down her arms.

He reaches out and pulls her into his arms. "I think it's better if we have clothes on. For Adria's future therapy bills." Her flesh feels so good against him and she reaches between them to palm his cock. He groans into her hair but his body is still out of the count. "You're insatiable."

"I've just been waiting forever." She kisses under his chin before walking over and pulling a sleeping shirt out of her duffle. "Are pants required?"

"As long as that shirt is long enough." He watches as she slips it on and then models it, spinning for him. She starts to leave and he catches her bicep and pulls her shoulder to shoulder with him. "Panties, too." Her pout makes him kiss it away before he spins her back around to put underwear on.

Cam grabs his favorite pair of sweats and tugs them on.

"How come I'm required to wear underwear and you aren't?"

"I can't be trusted if you're right there..."

"I trust you." She tiptoes up and rubs her nose against his.

"I don't trust me. Not after this afternoon. I want you too much." Cam kisses her lips quickly and tosses an arm around her shoulders bringing her out to the living room. "What movie?"

She pulls Adria out of the crib, she doesn't want to leave her stuffed toy so she grabs it and drags it out with her stuffing it into her mouth and sucking on it. "Something funny. Sweet and lots of action!"

"You don't ask for much do you?" He peruses the titles on the DVD's lining his shelf. "How about two of the three?" She shrugs and he pulls out Demolition Man. "I guess there is a little sweet in here as well."

He pops it in and hits play, then sits on the end of the couch and puts one leg against the back. He reaches for her and pulls her into the crook of his thighs.

She pulls the blanket off the back of the couch and leans back, her head on his shoulder. Adria sits in her lap and happily plays with her toy.

"This is much better than the base."

"Yes, it is." He kisses her temple and they settle in for the evening. Content and sated and feeing like a real family. It's a feeling he doesn't want to ever lose. He'll protect this with everything he has.


	8. Who'd Have Known Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 8**

**CHAPTER 8**

Cam sits on the floor with Adria playing her new favorite game - which involves Cam stacking blocks a foot or so high, and then Adria smashing her fists into them to watch them all tumble to the ground. She sends another carefully crafted structure careening down just as the water shuts off.

"Ten minutes," Cam calls out. It's not as though Carolyn won't make time to see them whenever they get there, but Cam likes to tease Vala about how long it takes her to get ready sometimes. He can't see how she ever managed to make it anywhere in the leather outfits when he sees how much time she spends on something that just requires jeans and a t-shirt.

"Yes, yes," Vala shouts back. "I'll be ready! I've just got to do my hair."

He leans in to Adria and mock whispers. "Mommy lies."

Vala sticks her head about the door. "Mummy never lies. And she's always right."

He mouths 'mummy's wrong' to Adria, who watches his mouth move and then makes a happy squawk.

"I don't know what you just said to her, but Adria, don't listen," Vala warns.

Cam reaches out to tweak Adria's nose. She rocks back and claps. "Yeah, you're easy," he grins at her. "Everything makes you happy, huh? How'd we get so lucky?"

He starts to stack the blocks up again, making sort of a pyramid this time. He thinks she likes it when he changes up the shapes. She watches him patiently until he's put the last block on the very top of it before striking.

"She's good at this, you know that?" Cam says, watching her. "She's smart."

"You're biased," Vala says. She doesn't seem to mind though. She's smiling proudly, sitting on the edge of the bed to brush and curl the ends of her hair. Cam has watched her do it a dozen times now and it's... well, actually, as far as things he likes to watch Vala do, fairly boring, but it's still kind of nice.

Adria thrusts her arms up and cries out impatiently, wanting Cam to pick her up. He pulls her into his arms, and she reaches up to cover his eyes with her hands. Cam laughs, recognizing the game - her second favorite one now. He covers her eyes with his hands like she attempted to do with him, only his hand is big enough to actually block her vision. He waits a few seconds then pulls it away and says, "Peekaboo!"

She's endlessly amused by this, laughing until she actually gasps.

"Oh, yes. She's brilliant," Vala says, dryly, putting her brush aside to walk over to Cam. "She has mastered the art of yet another silly earth tradition."

"Mommy is now making fun of your smarts, kid." Cam plays a few more rounds of peek-a-boo before his phone buzzes. "Time to go."

"You set your phone?" She still has the brush in her hand and her hair is only half done.

"It's the five minute warning. It takes two to walk there." He sits next to her on the bed and grabs the brush and swats her ass with it. "We need to move it. Don't make me brush your hair."

"If I let you brush my hair we'd be even more delayed..." She recalls the last time he helped her with her hair. It ended with them both naked and tangled together on her bed. Sated and happy. "But i'd be willing to risk it-"

"Nuh-uh." He gives her the brush back. "Hurry up, sweet cheeks." He sees the eye roll at the endearment but he just smiles and kisses her forehead. "Adria and I might have to go by ourselves."

"Then I could nap." She ponders the idea but dismisses it. She enjoys knowing how far her daughter has come and doesn't like to miss out on her firsts.

"Recover from your stressful life."

"Recover from all the hot sex..." Vala takes the final pull through her hair and tosses the brush onto the bed. "I'm ready."

"For more hot sex?" Cam hands her the baby and holds the door for them.

"Always." Her wink is still inside her quarters technically so she gets away with it. No affectionate glances or touches allowed in the hallway. "But this time I meant for the appointment."

"That's good because we're going to be late." Cam makes eye contact with Adria who is peering at him over Vala's shoulder. "See, what did I tell you about mommy?"

"Three minutes is not late." She kisses the soft cheek of her child and causes her to make a delighted giggled. "It's fashionable."

"Momma is always fashionable, pumpkin."

If they weren't in the open she'd pinch him somewhere sensitive. As it is, she just shoots him a affectionate glare.

By now, no one in the medical section finds it the least bit strange that Cam accompanies Vala and Adria on the checkups. He's even brought her by himself once when Vala's expertise was needed elsewhere.

Adria cries a bit when Carolyn takes her away from Cam, big fat tears that leak out of her eyes are she looks back and forth between Vala and Cam, as if betrayed that they'd let someone else hold her. Especially the someone who tends to poke and prod her.

When Carolyn draws the obligatory blood sample, the wailing really starts. Adria doesn't cry that much - not nearly as much as Cam would have thought from the stories he's heard from friends with children - but when she does, it's a force to be reckoned with. As soon as Carolyn is done, Vala picks Adria up and tries to soothe her.

"Here, you try," she says after a minute, handing her over to Cam. Cam bounces her up and down gently, whispers to her and then covers her eyes. She jerks her head back and just cries harder.

"Oh, I know, sweetheart. You don't understand why they gotta poke you so much, huh? Well, neither do I." He kisses the top of her head and lets her cry. He knows that it isn't just Adria's health they check so frequently, but other things. They're checking to see if she's still human - still Vala's daughter - or if the Ori have planted something within her. Cam holds her a little tighter just thinking about it. "No way."

He doesn't realize he's said the last part out loud until Vala gives him a strange look. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he says, trying to smile over Adria's cries. "Did you bring her-"

"Oh!" Vala digs in her pocket and pulls out a pacifier. "Here."

She rubs it off on her shirt and then pops it in Adria's mouth. Adria glares at the blatant attempt at distracting her from tears, but then mere moments later forgets to be angry and just starts to suck on it.

"I'm going to bring these to the lab, give her a chance to calm down." Carolyn shuts the door behind her to give them privacy.

"It's gonna be okay, little one." Vala stands in front of Cam and starts rubbing Adria's back. Tears are still leaking from her eyes and she's sucking furiously on the nook. "Do they have to take blood every time?"

"I'm not sure... I don't know how much I can do to influence these check ups." For some reason the frequency was increased and instead of every other month they were called in for a six month check up, as well. He lays his hand over hers on the child's back and takes it. Pulling her palm to his lips he kisses it. It's more than he should be doing in public, but she needs the comfort and they're alone, for now.

At times like this, she hates that they have to hide. His arms are the source of her comfort too and only Adria gets to partake now. The kiss on her palm makes her feel a little calmer and she mouthes the words "Thank you" at him while he returns her hand to the baby's back.

Just in the nick of time because the door swings open and Dr. Lam returns.

Her smile is bright, as if this is just a perfectly normal checkup. He knows that she's just doing her job, but it also kind of grates on him now.

"We all good here?" He asks, wanting to get them out. He's already cleared the day pass and all they have to do is swing back by Vala's quarters to get Adria's diaper bag before they can go.

"We'll need her back in a month," Carolyn says.

"Right," Vala says, her tone making her displeasure evident. "I suppose we'll see you then."

Cam waits with the baby while Vala makes sure everything is in the diaper bag. He sits on the edge of the bed and holds her hands up so that her feet are on the ground. She's not close to walking yet, but she likes to stamp her feet on the ground knowing that he's supporting her. "Oh, yeah, gonna be my little athlete, aren't you? Look at them long legs."

"Ready," Vala says. He can tell she's still upset over the appointment, and he doesn't blame her. He hates seeing Adria cry. She's a baby, and she does cry, but there's a difference between Adria testing her boundaries and throwing a fit, and knowing that the tears are because some government entity wants to test her.

Cam knows by now that his objectivity is shot. He keeps up the pretense because he's afraid of what the SGC would do if they knew about his torn alliance. Right now, he's allowed a fair amount of freedom as long as they don't know that Cam and Vala are actually together.

It probably helps that Cam implies to General Landry that most of their day outings involve the whole team. He's careful to never explicitly say so, and he has offered an invitation to enough team members enough times when he conveniently knew they were occupied, that he can claim he intends them to be team trips if anyone asks.

He just hopes no one does.

"Okay, time to go." Cam says, looking down at Adria. She looks back up at him, tipping her head so far back that without his assistance she would have fallen. She's amused by the stumble and giggles as Cam lifts her up and sets her on his shoulder, his hands around her. She likes being high up.

"Oh, there we go," Vala says, walking over to them. "She's already training her first man-servant to carry her around. It makes a mother proud."

"She's had me at her beck and call for months now. Just like her momma." He tips forward and his lips find hers. "Lets go Princess. We all need some air after that appointment."

The guard just waves them past as they head out of the mountain. They drive pass the turn they usually take and Vala peeks over at him. He's got a smile on his face and she's curious to what he's up to. She holds her tongue for once, she's content to look at his secretive grin.

They pull off the road into the park and she's on to his plan.

"Garden of the Gods?" The car slows as they meander through the roads among the beautiful rock formations.

"You've never been, right?" She shakes her head. His hand grabs hers and squeezes. He pulls off into a parking spot, kisses her wrist and then jumps out. "Grab the spelunker. I've got stuff in the trunk."

He hefts the diaper bag out of the back seat and over his shoulder. The trunk is popped and he pulls out the little suitcase on wheels. He saw it at the outdoors store when he went last and thought it would be a good investment. It was a fully stocked picnic case, everything they'd need. He'd made sandwiches that morning and packed them in the cooler part with a couple jars of Adria's favorite baby food.

"This place is very interesting..." She survey's the reddish rock that makes arches and peaks. "Think there's buried treasure?"

"Honey..." He gives her an exasperated look and she just smiles.

"What? You never know." She bounces Adria on her hip, the baby is impressed with the large natural formations, her mouth is hanging open and she's pointing at different things that capture her attention. "You know I'm right don't ya, darling?"

"We can discuss the possibility of treasure hunting or not when we find a place for lunch." He hears her stomach rumble at the mention of the word. "It's been a stressful morning, I'm sure you'd like to comfort yourself with food."

"Since someone else can't..." She stops herself. She knows that he wants to hold her, but can't do it there. Vala really does understand. She's selfish and needy and it still bothers her when she can't be close to him.

"You know I wan-" Her finger covers his lips and she leans into his space.

"I do. I'm sorry. It's just... I needed you, too. When she gets upset... I just..."

He sets the diaper bag on the ground and pulls her into his arms. "If I hold you now, does that help? A little?"

She nods against his chest and Adria squirms in her arms to wiggle closer between them. She's taken to loving laying in bed with them, wedged between their bodies. It makes them both laugh and Vala moves back, just a bit, and allows Adria to seek the comfort of her parents - that's who they are to her. She thinks of him as her father. They've given her every reason in the world to believe that to be true. Vala finds her self wishing it were.

"You ready for food now?" Cam's voice is gentle and low, as his hand pets her hair.

She goes to moves to back up and pull the baby with her, but she's now clutching Cam around the neck. "Dada."

It's good that Cam is already reaching to take her with him because Vala's hands fly to her mouth. She's been babbling lots of things up to now, but she's never made a word. "She just..."

"How would she..." Cam doesn't know what to say. "Did she call me her 'Dada'?"

"Dada da," Adria says again, proud of the reaction that it's drawn. She's looks between them, then says it again. "DADA!"

Vala looks at Cam, hardly able to believe it. She calls him daddy to Adria when Cam isn't actually around, but she never thought... she devotes a few seconds to being terrified that this will upset him before she sees the beaming expression on his face, the smile that's absolutely lighting up his expression.

He hugs Adria, who isn't sure why all of the fuss is being made, but loves it nonetheless. Vala looks just as happy, but he assumes it might just be because Adria said her first word. "Can you say mama now?"

"Dada," Adria says, and looks at them like she expects another big deal to be made of it. "Dada?"

"Mama," Cam tries again, to no avail. "She probably doesn't even know what it means."

Vala just laughs. "Oh, she's clearly picked her favorite, lets just enjoy it."

"Hey..." He double checks to make sure she isn't secretly upset and then grins. "She said her first word!"

Vala's face almost hurts from smiling so much. She wants to wrap them both up in a big hug - so she does. Cam's arms slip easily around her again, while Adria keeps babbling her new chosen word and yanking on Cam's shirt.

They continue on to find the perfect picnic area, settling in and spreading out the blanket that Cam packed. They put Adria down, but in her newfound effort to achieve mobility she immediately begins rolling and scooting around, just shy of really crawling.

"She looks like an inchworm," Cam says, watching her reach her favorite toy and stop to gnaw on it.

"She's much more attractive then a worm, even one that is cute because it is only an inch." Vala is digging out the sandwiches and finds one to her liking. She unwraps it and starts eating.

"It's a creature that scoots along, butt in the air and then pushes forward to move." Her expression makes him laugh and instead of trying to translate it, he reaches in for a sandwich of his own.

It's a warm day and the clouds are just wisps in the sky. There is a slight breeze that keeps the heat of the sun from becoming overwhelming. They picnic for a couple hours until it's clear that Adria needs her lunch and a nap. Vala feeds the munchkin some pureed carrots to appease her until they get back to Cam's where she is more comfortable breastfeeding.

He's got everything gathered and they head back to the car. He grabs her hand and intwines their fingers while Adria's head is resting on Vala's shoulder. She loves Cam most for playtime, but Vala is the one she depends on for safety and comfort when she's sleepy. Her nook is in her mouth and her eyes are drooping.

"Maybe she'll go to sleep without eating more?" Cam opens the door for Vala to put Adria in her car seat while he packs everything else away.

"As soon as we get in your door she'll be squalling for her meal." She hops into the car and they pull out of the Garden of the Gods. Cam drives the longer route out so she can enjoy the scenery. "It's really beautiful here."

"It's never looked this pretty before." He's looking at her, not at the landscape.

Vala just grins. "Such a charmer you are."

"Is it still just being charming when it's the complete and absolute truth?"

Her breath catches. She can tell he's being honest and it's always stunning to her that someone could feel that way, so genuinely like Cam does.


	9. Who'd Have Known Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 9**

**CHAPTER 9**

It's late in the afternoon. Cam is playing with Adria, who is fresh from her nap, while Vala showers off what they'd been up to during that well-timed nap. As much as Cam had wanted to join her, someone demanded attention and banana mush, though it turns out that she wanted the mush more for smearing it around than actually eating it.

He's trying to play a different kind of game, though. "Ma-ma," he says, elongating the sound, drawing it out and staring at her while he says it. "Come on, kiddo. I know you got your mother's mouth on you. Soon, we won't be able to shut you up. Just say mama, gimme a little sneak peak."

Adria stuffs three banana baby food covered fingers in her mouth and laughs around them.

The water stops running and Cam sets aside the jar of food, grabbing the paper towels for clean up and attempting to get her a little less sticky and more presentable. There's baby food all around her on the floor and even some on her hair. He thinks about maybe buying a high chair for his apartment. He'd bought one for Vala's base quarters just a couple weeks before, when it became apparent that feeding Adria, while less time consuming, was becoming a good deal messier.

Once she's more or less clean, Cam picks Adria up and moves over to the couch with her. She kicks her legs out, babbling at him the whole time. Her hand finds his face and explores his nose, yanking her hand back in shock and then laughing when he twitches it on purpose.

"Hey, Addy. Remember when you did nothing but sleep?" He asks her. As soon as she hears her name - or at least, the nickname he's given her - she stops moving to watch his mouth and hear the sounds. "Yeah, I remember those. Those were good times, huh, kid?"

"If only we'd been able to take more advantage of those months..."

He looks up to see Vala walk into the room toweling her hair dry. Whatever response he's about to form is derailed when he realizes that all she's wearing is panties and one of his shirts. "Oh, now that's what I'm talking about."

She stops mid-towel to grin at him and do a little curtsey.

"And hey, I think we do okay," he says, referring to her previous remark. "Considering our limitations."

"Yes, it's those limitations I take issue with." Vala makes a face, but sits down on the couch beside Cam. Adria immediately holds her arms out and starts to squirm, wanting her mother.

"Mama, you want to go to mama." Cam gets the familiar look of wonder from the baby and then hands her over. "I'm trying , baby... I don't get why she said dada first."

Vala takes Adria and then leans over and kisses his temple. She's certainly not going to tell him how that occurred. "I'm starving." Her lips travel to his ear and nibbles on the lobe. "Hot sex makes me famished."

"It's a good thing I know that cause I ordered us some pizza. I was still faint from orgasmic bliss when I picked up the phone. That's how well I take care of you." He tips his head so he can kiss her lips.

Adria makes kissing noises as they separate. "Do you want a kiss too, pumpkin?" Vala purses her lips and kisses the baby. "Dada takes good care of us doesn't he?" She lifts her up so she can lay one of her sloppy baby kisses on Cam, as well.

"Dada. Dada!" Her hands circle his neck and she goes back to him as she's giving him the kiss.

The doorbell rings and Cam gets up with his wallet and the baby who's clinging to his neck. "Pizza time, munchkin." He swings the door open and it's not the delivery boy after all.

It's Samantha Carter. The one that works with them on SG-1. Their teammate. At his door.

He just stood and stared. Vala didn't know what was taking so long, so she gets off the couch and walks over. As soon as she sees the hold up she knows her mistake. "Sam..." Her voice is almost lost. She looks down at her bare legs, her hair is still wet and it's pretty obvious what has just happened.

Adria recognizes Sam and smiles and waves. "Dada." She speaks the word and hugs Cam's neck.

"Well... this wasn't what I was expecting. I... I tried to call." Sam can feel the heat on her cheeks. She wishes that she never saw this. She knows that they were trying to hide it, she wonders for how long and then wonders why she didn't suspect it.

His pulls his phone from his pocket. "Dead... No wonder you couldn't get through."

"There's a mission, leaving soon, we need to be on it."

Vala steps forward and takes Adria. "I'll take her back to the bedroom so you two can discuss it." There's no need to hide her familiarity with that area of his apartment now.

Cam opens the door and lets Sam step in.

Sam still waits until Vala is out of earshot to say, "Cam? What are you doing?"

There's caution in her voice, not exactly disappointment but wariness. Cam moves toward the couch, picking up Adria's little stuffed dog once he sits. He absently plays with one of it's floppy ears. "Hell, Sam. I don't know, really."

"You and Vala..." She leaves the question open ended.

"Yeah. Me and Vala." He gives her a crooked smile. "I can't explain it. But it's not just sex."

Sam doesn't seem surprised by the admission, or by how forthright Cam is being. "It never crossed my mind that it was. Because I know you, Cam. I know you aren't stupid enough to risk all of this just for sex."

Now he can hear the judgement, and it makes him feel hollow inside. "I know what you're thinking, but Sam, I look at that little girl and I just know. There's nothing wrong with her."

"Cam, you can't just know," Sam says, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm. "Listen to me. Cassie was with Janet for years before we knew what Nirrti had done to her."

"But that turned out fine. Hell, Cassie's in college now, living a perfectly normal life," Cam argues. "But it isn't just about her. I love Vala."

Vala's in the bedroom, the door cracked open so she can hear. It's not hard; Sam and Cam aren't even particularly trying to be quiet. Her jaw drops when she hears Cam say that.

"You love her enough to risk everything? Your life with the military, your job, your reputation, everything you've claimed were important to you." Sam knows the answer before he says it. She wishes that she and Jack had been brave enough to risk it. To grab the chance to be something before it was almost gone.

"Yes." As soon as the word leaves his mouth he knows that it's true. There is no going back with Vala. He's been in love with her for awhile. It is nice to say it, even if it's not to her. "I'd risk everything for her and Adria."

"I don't think that you should hide it anymore."

"Sam..."

"No, I think you need to, at least, tell the team." She sees that he's about to say something but she holds up her hand. "We risk our lives all the time. If you have someone you need to get back to and you don't..."

"I don't even want to think about that sort of possibility." Cam knows she's right, though. If he's injured or killed off world he wants Vala and Adria to get his benefits. They're basically his family now. He loves them. Why couldn't it stay the way it was?

"It's always a risk. You know that." Sam sees he's going to have to think about it. "Anyway, I came here because we need to leave on a mission in two hours. It got pushed up because the numbers I just ran suggest that the heat on that planet will be unbearable at the original time. We've got fifteen good hours on the planet at the new time. Should be enough to gather the intel we need."

"Okay. I'll be in soon." He peeks over his shoulder to the bedroom. He hates when his times with Vala and Adria gets cut short. "I'll talk to Vala about telling the team." They get up together and Cam walks her to the door. "Just know that I didn't plan to fall in love with them. It just..."

"Happened. I know. Believe me, I know." Sam pats his shoulder and walks out the door.

Cam stays on the couch for a minute after Sam leaves, thinking about what she's said.

He's not deaf; he heard the regret in her voice, the hint of something wistful. He's also heard the rumors on base about Sam and Colonel O'Neill. He gets the situation she was in and how hard it was.

But he also knows Sam Carter. He knows how dedicated she is to her job. He knows how selfless she is, and how nothing comes before saving this planet. He knows how much of her life she's written off because the fate of their fellow humans is more important than one person's happiness.

He knows that if Sam had it all to do over again, she wouldn't do anything differently. He knows how selfish he is by proclaiming otherwise for himself. The thing is, though - Cam doesn't think that being with Vala, that giving Adria a normal life, is sacrificing anything.

If it were just Vala, he doesn't think it would be such an issue. Vala is trouble, sure, but she's proven how useful she can be to the SGC over the past few months. She hasn't given them any trouble. She's been too busy for that, too busy taking care of her baby. He thinks that Vala is the least of the SGC's concerns right now. No, the trouble is with Adria.

And even if he's wrong... if the Ori did give Adria some kind of power, surely having it on their side is better than the alternative. Locking Adria up in the base, allowing her no freedom, no pretense of a normal family... maybe he's just deluding himself, but he doesn't see how that is any less dangerous than allowing her the freedom that terrifies the SGC.

"Cameron?" Vala says softly, stepping into the room. Her patience has worn thin and she's afraid of the silence coming from him. Silence is rarely a good thing, in Vala's opinion. She makes it her duty to eradicate it as often as possible. "Did Samantha leave?"

"Yeah. And we've gotta go soon, too..." He sighs, getting up. Adria spots her toy in his hand and her face lights up. She reaches out for it, yammering something unintelligible in an impatient tone. "Let me take her while you get her stuff ready."

It's a thin excuse when really he just wants to hold her for a moment - wants to hold both of them. So that's exactly what he does. When Vala hands her over, Cam pulls them both in close and hugs them tightly.

She lets him take them both in his arms. It feels good, so good. She heard him tell Sam that he loves her. She feels the same, she's known how deep her feelings were for some time. Clearly, neither of them have the guts to admit it. She'll just play along, for now.

"What did Samantha have to say?"

"Mission got moved up." He hears her hum against him, asking for the rest. "She thinks we should tell the team."

"About us?"

"Yeah, about us." As brave as he is on missions, sometimes he's just chicken shit with Vala. "What should we do?"

"We should, I think. They'll be supportive, perhaps a little surprised, but they like you. I bet they want you to be happy." She stops short, reacting with what came out of her own mouth. "You are, aren't you? Happy, that is."

"You know I am." He's almost offended by the question. He might underestimate her insecurities when it comes to relationships. She's so confident and sure sounding, but it's all really a cover for her real feelings. "You and Adria make me so very happy."

Vala relaxes hearing that. She leaves Adria in his arms, but feels his eyes on her as she moves about the room. She doesn't even bother taking all of Adria's things. It's a bit like marking her territory at this point. She wants him to see these things that will make him think of her when he comes home at night.

A few minutes later Cam stands by the car while Vala straps Adria into the car seat. He's waiting when she straightens and shuts the door. Without saying a word, he pulls her close to him and kisses her. It's long, slow, and deliberate, the kind of kiss that makes Vala's stomach flutter and her knees go week.

Before Cam, she'd forgotten that a kiss could even make you feel like that.

"You are so important to me," he murmurs, pressing his lips to her forehead. She puts her arms around him almost desperately, holding on tight like he's going to slip away, but he's holding back just as tight. "We're gonna tell them. The team. Because I think you're right. I think they'll understand that sometimes you have to break the rules a little bit. Sometimes you have to take what you need to keep going. What I need right now is you."

Adria has wormed her way into his heart and he'd do anything to keep her safe, but Vala... he doesn't want to take a step through life again without Vala by his side. He can't think of a way to tell her so he doesn't, not right now. There'll be plenty of time for that.

The SGC needs Sam Carter. It needs her brain, it needs her experience. It needs Daniel Jackson. It needs so many of the genuises, thinkers, leaders, that function within it.

Cam is good at his job, but the program doesn't need him, and instead of being a blow to his ego right now, he feels like it is a saving grace. He can walk away and know that nothing is really different. He can walk away with Vala, if he has to, with Vala and Adria, and know that the only people he's letting down understand, deep down.

"We need to go." It's Vala that offers the reminder, though she certainly doesn't sound happy to be doing so. "You'll be late."

"They won't leave without me," he says, a wry grin on his face considering the thoughts dominating his mind these past few minutes. "Or hell, maybe they will. We'll just go on another picnic if they do, how does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect." She doesn't want to let him go. Doesn't want him to let her go, but it's hard to drive in this position. Her lips find his again for another soul searing kiss. Their lips devour each other as if it might be their last. If it's anything close to the jaunt he took off world for the Ori plague... She pulls away and scoots back to her side. "Lets go before I don't let you."

Cam grabs her hand and holds it for most of the drive. His fingers play across her palm and he can hear her sighs of pleasure from the simple contact. When they get close to the mountain she pulls her hand away, instinctually. It's probably for the best, but he's done hiding.

He gets Vala and Adria settled in their room. He's about to walk out the door when it hits him that he might never come back. If the mission is botched or he falls into an alternate dimension. Strange things happen to them all the time. People die or are lost. He lets his hand fall off the handle and he walks over to Vala, who's just put Adria into her play pen with her millions of toys, and pulls her into his arms.

He takes a deep breath. "In case I don't-"

Her hand flies to his mouth, covering the words. "Don't tell me like that, please, I don't want it to be because you feel like I don't know and you have to say it."

He realizes that it must not feel great to have fear and possible regret be the driving force behind the words he was about to utter. But now he has an overwhelming need to tell her. Her hand falls away from his mouth.

"I love you." He tips her chin up to look at him. "I'm in love with you." He tips his head towards Adria. "Her too, but mostly her mother." He leans in for a kiss and suddenly she's holding onto him so tightly and kissing him so fiercely that he's having trouble breathing. The lightheadedness from lack of oxygen makes the sensations more heady and he wants to show her, really worship her and tell her with his body how much he loves her.

"I know I told you not to... But it's wonderful to hear." She kisses him again. She wants to return the words, but they seem stuck in her stomach. They feel heavy and bogged down and she doesn't know why. She does love him, is in love with him. But for some reason she's not being allowed to speak of it yet. "Be safe, come back to us."

He's about to say something else but the phone rings and the mission is set to leave in about fifteen minutes.

Vala hustles over to answer. "Hi, Carolyn." She waves at him as he leaves her room.

The mission lasts longer than Cam had hoped, and weather conditions on the planet mean that the only communication they have are the gate checks every twelve hours.

Like with every mission by the time it's over, Cam wants a shower, a hot meal, and a hug from Vala.

He knows something is wrong as soon as he steps into the medical exam area and sees the look on Carolyn Lam's face. She won't meet his eyes and that sets of warning bells but he doesn't know how to ask in front of everyone else. As soon as she walks away after drawing blood samples, he gets up to follow her.

He can hear Daniel ask where he's going but he ignores the question. It only takes a few steps to catch up with Carolyn. He grabs her arm and doesn't let her walk away, even when she makes a half-hearted excuse about needing to get the samples to the lab. 'What is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Carolyn." There's an undercurrent of steel to Cam's voice. He's not letting her get away without talking to him.

"Something came back strange in Adria's last workup," she admits. "The International Oversight Advisory committee have required that we do further testing on her."

"Where is she?" Cam demands to know.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Mitchell, but I can't divilgue that information."

"Vala wouldn't have left without leaving some sort of notice for me," Cam says.

"Vala is still on base," Carolyn says, after a pause.

"They took a baby from it's mother?" His voice was seething with anger that he was desperately trying to hold in check. Carolyn just raises an eyebrow at him. "Where's Vala?"

"Brig seven, I think." Carolyn turns to leave this time nodding at the nearby airman if Cam tries to prevent that from happening again.

Cam doesn't need any more info from her, he's off at a sprint to the brig. He can't believe it. He's gone for a couple days and all hell breaks loose. The guard at the entrance is surprised when Cam begins demanding the key for cell number seven. He's a superior officer, so Cam gets what he needs after a few minor, empty, threats. The poor kid has no idea that he can't actually accomplish some of the things he threatened, but that's fine.

It seems to take him hours to get the key to operate. His hands are shaking and it finally clicks in place. He doesn't know what to expect - crying hysterically or so mad she could spit. Perhaps a combination of the two.

Vala starts to rise when she hears the door, ready to fight whoever she needs to to get out of here and retrieve her child.

"Vala, love?" He looks around and finds her huddling in the corner halfway rising. "Baby?" He holds his arms out as he goes to her. He can see the wet streaks on her face, her hair is a rumpled mess and she's ruddy from the crying.

"They took her. Oh, God, I couldn't stop them, they took our baby." She falls into his arms and he locks them tight around her. "I couldn't stop them, I couldn't... I swear I tried."

"Shhhh. I know, I know. We're going to get her back. I promise." His hands rub her back as he holds her fiercely. He's full of untapped rage right now and he sends up a prayer for anyone that gets in his way. That baby will be returned to them.

Her sobs are breaking his heart and he slides down on the floor and pulls her into his lap. He knows that he should take it back to her quarters, but he doesn't care to get a mark on his record because he didn't get General Landry to approve it first. He'll sit in here for now and comfort her before leaving to get the paperwork put through.

"I told the team." Vala looks up at him then, questioning the outcome. "They took it really well. Actually, they are all happy I'm keeping you entertained. I think Daniel was the most ecstatic about it."

There is a slight giggle that turns into a sob. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think that Teal'c was over the moon for you. He's a secret romantic, I think."

"Yeah, Muscles has a heart of gold. The real kind that's mushy." She puts her palm against his cheek and presses her forehead to his. "We'll get her back right?"

"Mmhmm." He kisses her nose and then her forehead. Both cheeks are next then a soft press against her lips. "No doubt in my mind."

Vala's never been the kind that needs anyone rescuing her, but right now, just the fact that she has someone beside her to hold her hand through this keeps her feeling like she can breathe. She's never felt this desperate, this scared - it's not her own life in danger, it's her child's. Her daughter, her sweet innocent little girl, who has barely even begun to live.

"She's got to be so scared," Vala says, turning her face toward Cam, finding solace in his arms. "They didn't let me send anything with her. They said they had to test... to test her. What did they find?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. But we're gonna find out." He holds her close to him, and keeps holding as a fresh bout of tears overtakes her. The floor is uncomfortable but he barely even registers it. He strokes her hair and wipes away the damp salty trails on her cheeks, waits until she can speak again. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to that little girl."

"She kept... asking for you," Vala says, her shaky smile returning. "She kept saying Dada."

Cam can't help but smile at that. "She say Mama yet?"

"Not yet. She's being stubborn, I think," Vala laughs. "She knows what it means, I can see it in her eyes, but she won't make anything easy on me."

"Course not," Cam says. "She's your daughter. It's her job to give you headaches for the next 18 years of your life."

"I'd... I just want to hear her cry again... I don't care if she doesn't talk for another year, but I want her..."

Cam can sense that she's about to lose it again but he tries to distract her this time, derail the emotion. "You'll get to. She's not gone, Vala. My people aren't that cruel."

There is confidence in his voice, but deep down he's not sure if he believes it.

"Yeah, Carolyn wouldn't let them..." Vala doesn't want to say anything else. She doesn't want to explore any possible outcomes in her head.

"I'm sure she will protect her." He rubs her back and feels her breathing deepen and even out. Her hand slips from his shoulder and he sees that she's asleep. He was going to get up soon and get her released from the brig, but now that she's passed out he doesn't feel like he should move her. They must have taken the baby almost as soon as he left. He'd heard her answer the phone call from Doc Lam. "I'm going to fix it all, baby, promise." He kisses her head and inhales her scent.

Even without being the most enjoyable circumstances, he was glad to be holding her. The weight of her across his legs was starting to put them to sleep, though. He has no clue how long it's been but he's content to wait on her to finish her nap. He lets himself slide down the side of the wall until his back is flat on the floor. Cam adjusts her gently and lays her across his chest. His legs can wake up now. One arm stays on her back and the other goes behind his head to pillow it from the hard ground. He's tired too and just shuts his eyes for a minute.


	10. Who'd Have Known Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 10**

**CHAPTER 10**

Sam finds them entangled in brig seven. She heard about Adria not long after returning and she was sure that Cam went to comfort Vala. She knew that she should do something. She knows what it's like to be caught between duty and love. It's an awful choice to have to make and she often wonders if she's made the correct one.

Her love, however, has a lot of pull around the Air Force. All it takes is a word from her and a promise to dinner and she had what she wanted.

They really do fit together perfectly. The way he's curled around her in sleep and she's huddling next to him. Protected by his arms. Sam smiles as she kneels next to them. She hates to wake them, but thinks it's important.

She touches Cam's shoulder and gives him a little shake. "Hey, Colonel." He starts awake.

"Sam?" He takes stock of Vala in his grasp. She's still sleeping. "Hey, what's up? I must have fallen asleep here."

She rolls her eyes at him. "I talked to Jack. He's pulled some strings and Adria is on her way back to base."

"Where was she?"

"It's not important..." She'd rather he didn't have to know.

"Sam..." Cam sees the look in her eyes and lets it go. "Okay, she's coming back now. And Vala?"

"Cleared of everything." Sam stands up and walks back to the door. "I can't believe that they would rip her child from her arms. It's awful. Jack felt the same. He had a son once."

"Thanks, Sam. For everything."

"I've also gotten you an all clear on your... relationship." Cam's eyes widen in surprise. "That one was a little harder. But she's going to have to agree to being grounded and only helping SG1 on a case to case basis."

"She's a contractor." Cam smiles and pets her hair. "She'll probably hike up her rates now."

Sam just smiles. "You love her. She loves you. I'm a hopeless romantic. Just don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me, Carter." He reaches out for her hand and she walks over to take it. "Thanks for everything. I owe you."

"You'll never be able to repay this, but I'll have an enjoyable time extracting things."

"There is no doubt in my mind." Cam waves at her as she leaves.

Cam lets her sleep for a few more minutes but if Adria is on her way back he knows she'll want to be up for that.

"Morning," he says, able to smile now that he knows everything is gonna be okay. "Come on, get up. We're gonna have a visitor pretty soon."

Her brow furrows in confusion. She wants to hope that he means her daughter, but she's afraid to.

"Yeah," he says gently, smiling at her. "Sam got her back for us. She's coming home."

"I need-" Vala scrambles back, sitting up in a hurry. Cam gets to his feet and helps her up too, pulling her into his arms. She tugs away and he realizes why she wants to go.

"It'll take a few minutes, but she's on her way. You want to go get cleaned up?"

It's obvious that Vala's been in here for a while. He's not sure how long... but he intends to find out and have some serious words with whoever okayed locking her up.

Cam gets a phone call an hour later. Vala's cleaning the bedroom for the third time, nervous energy exploding from her. She still looks slightly dazed, exhausted despite her nap, and like she needs a good meal - but Cam is smart enough to know that he's not going to get her to do anything until Adria's back.

That's why Sam's call seems to come at the perfect time. Cam is up in a flash, reaching for Vala's hand and drawing her along. Sam is on her way and they hear Adria's wails before anything else. Vala breaks into a run and Cam has to jog to keep up with her.

Sam has her clutched against her and Adria is wiggling and scrambling, her arms reaching for Vala.

"Mama, mama, mama!" Her voice is practically a scream.

Vala is sobbing with relief as she collects her from Sam and Adria is holding herself tightly against Vala's neck. She feels Cam's arms pull them both into his chest and hold them tightly.

"She said it." Vala is stroking the baby's head as Cam kisses hers. "She called me mama."

"She missed her momma." He peeks around Vala's shoulder and finds Adria's tear stained face sniffling in her mother's neck. "You happy to be home little one?" Adria nods into Vala's neck.

"Dada." She tries to smile at him, but is still too upset.

"Yeah, I'm here baby girl." He turns Vala around and points her towards the bedroom. He turns to Sam. "I'l properly thank you later. It will involve food and beer."

Sam just waves them off. "I'll be waiting. As long as it doesn't involve babysitting..."

He laughs and jogs after Vala and Adria.

The first thing Vala does when she gets back is offer her an opportunity to eat.

Cam sits behind her and rubs her shoulders as Adria suckles. He doesn't know what they've fed her since she's been gone, but she's hollowing her cheeks and eating furiously.

"She's acting like she's starving." Vala stroked her cheek while watching her.

He massages her shoulders as the baby eats. "I think it's more of a comfort thing because she looks alright." He leans closer and watches the breastfeeding for a moment. Adria's fingers were grasping the swell of Vala's breast, as if trying to pull herself closer. He can feel the tension leave Vala as more milk goes into Adria. "For you, too."

"Mmmhmm." She leans back into him, making it so his hands slide around and under the baby. That way he can hold them both. It adds more comfort to her.

The moment is peaceful and quiet, like they're both rebuilding strength after this scare.

He thinks about how bad it could have been; if Sam hadn't stepped in and thrown her weight around, if they'd actually taken her far enough from the mountain that she couldn't have been so easily returned, if they'd hurt her...

There's a limit to how much he's willing to imagine. He shifts slightly, kisses her forehead, and says, "So exactly what did you do to get put in the brig, anyway?"

There's a slight pause and Vala smiles. Cam's glad; he realized that asking might be a gamble, but Vala likes telling stories, and he hoped that since this one has reached it's happy conclusion, she might find amusement in sharing. "They tried to take her, so I did what any loving mother would do."

"Which was...?"

"Well, they were rather dismissive of me at first. So I kicked them in the sensitive bits and took her back."

"And?"

"They caught me - again. There were quite a few of them. But these fellows were rather careless with their keys. And wallets. And currency. And ID badges."

Cam has to laugh. "You swiped all of that?"

"They practically handed them to me." She doesn't look the least bit apologetic, and Cam doesn't blame her. "I thought I could at least slow them down. Come up with a better plan. I hid the badges, and keys - when I wouldn't divulge where, they locked me in the brig."

"I love that about you." Cam loves how the word slips past his lips so easily now.

Vala snorts at him. "My ability to get locked up... creatively."

He laughs. "No, the way you never let anything get in your way. You are a fighter. No matter the odds or the number of ogres after you."

"I missed you." She almost sighs the words, soft and wispy. "Before when you told me-"

"That I love you?" He grins and kisses her temple. "I love you. Now I've mentioned it numerously."

"Yeah that." Adria's falling asleep, content to be close to her mom and Cam. Vala straightens her shirt and moves the child to a better sleeping position. "I felt this thing, deep in here." She points to her chest. "Like something was being stolen from me when you left."

"I'm back now. Here for a little while. Don't have another mission lined up yet."

"I hate thinking about you leaving now. It's irrational and petty, but I just..."

Cam hugs her tightly. He understands, he feels the same when he leaves. "You're worried about the 'what ifs' and 'maybes'. That's normal and it just tells me how much you care about me."

"I've never wanted... this," Vala admits. The words feel strange coming out of her mouth. "The entire time I was in the Ori galaxy, I never thought about Adria as... a child. I knew that I hadn't become pregnant by natural means, and I thought what I'd give birth to would be some sort of abomination. But she wasn't. She wasn't. I had her on that ship and I looked down at her in my arms, and she was small and strange and wrinkly and perfect. She was just a little girl, just a baby, and as soon as I looked at her..."

"You loved her," Cam says, summing up how she felt so simply and so perfectly.

"I'd do anything for her. I never expected to come back here to your planet and find someone else that felt that way about her, though."

"Not just her," Cam reminds her. "You, too."

Vala reaches up and brushes a tear away from her face. "I'm not entirely sure I know how to go about this, even."

"Vala, we've been making it just fine for the past few weeks, haven't we? I'm not asking anything from you that you aren't willing to give."

"But I am." The words burst out of her mouth like she hadn't meant to say them, like she just couldn't contain them. "And that's what is so terrifying about this. I want it. I want her to have it. I would love to be able to tell her when she's all grown up that the man that rescued her the day she was born was her father."

The word hangs in the air between them. Cam's shocked, even after Adria had asserted as much herself, to hear Vala say it. His reaction is pure jubilation and fear in equal parts, though. He takes a breath and chooses his words carefully. "I didn't think I was ever gonna have kids. I'm your average, married to the military, career officer. I never thought I'd meet this sexy alien, but you were the first person I saw walk through that gate and you rocked my world. I never thought I'd fall head over heels for her. And Adria - hell, you heard what I said. I never even thought I'd have kids, never paid them much attention. But from the second I laid eyes on her, she had me wrapped around her little finger, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Vala, I'd be honored to be her father."

"You..." Vala finds his hand with hers and squeezes tightly. "I love you."

His eyes light up like she's never seen before and she swears that there are tears in his eyes. They aren't falling, yet, but they are hovering there. She turns around in his embrace and hugs her body close to him.

"I love you." She says it again and the words aren't so unfamiliar now. "I'm so very in love with you." Vala practically scales him now, it's as if her lips will wither without touching his. She needs to kiss him, right now, or die from the consequences of waiting.

He's only slightly shocked at the ferocity of her mouth as she attacks his lips with hers. Their kiss is wild and uncontrolled, wet and hot. Tongues and teeth clash with need and her knees straddle his hips and start pressing closer to him.

The need that she feels for him is overwhelming, nothing has ever made her desperate for the closeness of sex before. Not the wish to come or the playfulness of it all, but the desire to be one with someone. She said the words, now her body wants it's say.

"We should-" He's cut off by her lips. He kisses her back until the need for oxygen takes over again. "Put the baby to bed. So we can-"

"Have sex..." Her lips trail along his jawline and down his neck as her hands tug his shirt free and over his head.

"No, no. Make love." Cam sees her eyes roll. "You'll see, feel, know. I can tell that you already do. There's a change in you and it's beautiful and all for me."

"Mmhmmm." She kisses his mouth again. Slower, more sensual this time, only teasing his tongue with the tip of hers. "Making love sounds good, too."

"I'm going to aim for better than good." Cam lifts her shirt off her body and tosses it. "Now lets get the baby into her crib and get out of our clothes."

Adria protests only faintly, worn out from her ordeal and ready to sleep now that she's at home. Vala makes sure her favorite toy is beside her in case she wakes up and then rejoins Cam on the bed. He meets her at the edge, pulling her against his body, unable to get enough of her mouth.

She starts to push at him and he grabs her hands in his, shaking his head. "My way tonight, baby."

She looks surprised, but nods, willing to utterly put her trust in him right now. She goes where he guides her, stretching out on the bed. She sees him moving down her body and gets excited, spreads her legs, thinking she knows what he's intending to do.

He bypasses the spot she wants him at most and goes down to the end of the bed, kneeling. She pouts in protest, but he just grins at her and lifts her foot in his hands, kissing her ankle.

"Cameron..." She doesn't really see the point in this, and wants to move on.

"Just let me. Relax. Let me do this." His voice is gentle but firm and he ignores the sigh that she gives him in response.

Vala tries to do what he says, seeing how important this is to him. She thinks it's boring to start off with, but somehow the touch of his hands and his mouth on her, everywhere, lulls her into a state that she can't remember ever being in before. He makes his way up her legs, kissing her stomach, licks and sucks at her nipples, and then turns her over onto her stomach and gives the same careful and deliberate attention to the rest of her. By the time he's straddling her body, the weight of his erection against her back, dropping kissing between her shoulder blades, she's worked into a quiet frenzy, dripping wet between her thighs and more ready than she can ever remember being. "Please," she says, her first word to him since he started this.

"What do you need?" Cam asks.

"You." She wriggles and manages to turn over, mostly because he lets her. She's almost taken aback by the depth of emotion in his eyes when he looks at her, how intense and electric blue they are, and how it makes her feel to see that directed at her.

"That's a pretty easy request." He kisses her. Slow, smooth, filled with everything he's feeling for her right then. His hand reaches for the condom he set out when she was putting the baby to bed. He leans away to put it on and she stills his hands.

"Let me." She doesn't wait for permission, nabbing the silver square, she tears it open and tosses the wrapper on the floor. Vala places the condom on her stomach and reaches down to hold his cock. He's hot, hard and yet so soft. Her fingers dance over his erection feeling their way around his dips and curves, the veins and the tiny hole. The way he feels, naked against her palm, makes her want just him inside her. She knows they don't need another child, not yet. A shudder still races through her just thinking about how he'd feel. Just him.

Cam groans as her hands play over his cock. She'd so gentle, so loving, so frustrating in her small touches, but he won't stop her. One of her hands reaches further down and cups his balls. She rolls them against her palm and he has to bite his lip and think of Thor to regain his control. He knows that the sac is contracting upwards, so ready to explode. He can feel the edge of his orgasm standing within his grasp.

She must sense that the pleasure that she's bringing him is getting too great. Her hand gives him one last squeeze and she reaches for the condom. The dribble of pre-cum that's coating the tip is swiped away with her finger and she brings it to her mouth, tasting him and humming in delight. He closes his eyes, watching her enjoy his flavor is too much. When he feels the latex rolling over him he reopens them and finds her eyes with his. They are glinting with mischief and he knows there isn't any going back, not ever.

He smooths a hand down her thigh and then lifts her leg until she gets the idea and drapes it over him. He presses in slowly, supports his weight on his arms above her, and lowers his mouth to hers.

Vala seems to understand now; more than that, she seems to want it slow and steady, moving her hands over his body, feeling him and what they're doing to each other. She cries out against his lips but it's an encouraging noise, voicing her pleasure so openly and readily that it makes him want to tremble. She's not holding anything back and he doesn't know if he's ever felt someone as much as he feels her right now.

He reaches down between them and puts a hand on her pubic bone, fingers splayed over the damp curls there. Her skin is hot and moist and his fingers slide around his cock as he moves in and out of her, feels the swollen slick flesh and teases at her clit in circles. She gasps, feeling the minute little touches rock through her body. She hitches her legs higher on him and takes him deeper, locking her ankles together so that when he pulls out he doesn't go far.

The kisses are just as intimate as the sex, their mouths never leaving each others, sometimes lazily, barely moving but sharing breath and muffling the cries. His stubble leaves a flush of redness on her skin but she doesn't care, just clutches at him harder, her nails digging into his shoulders and leaving half moon marks.

He can feel when he's getting closer and he doesn't even have to tell her. She reads it in the pace of his breathing, in the urgency of his groans, in the rigidity of his cock inside of her. "Yes," she urges, running her hands up and down his back now, encouraging him.

Her muscles clench around him and he gasps into her mouth. He doesn't want to stop kissing her, but breathing is becoming problematic as their energy increases. His hand is getting sore but he doesn't want to move it. He can feel the slight spasms as her body nears it's completion and he needs to bring her off.

"Can you feel it?" Cam's voice is rough and barely audible with the panting. Sweat drips down his neck as he pumps into her. His back and legs are working hard keeping the pace slow and sensual. All he wants to do now is pound his way to the end.

"I can feel you. So deep, filling me up so full." Her clit throbs under his finger as he grazes the head. The skin is pulled back, exposing the tiny nub to his ministrations. Everything feels more sensitive and bigger. The feelings shooting through her are magnified greater then before. His body heat feels warmer and his cock so huge within her. He's bumping her perfectly inside and she digs her heels in to get him to speed up.

"God, you're perfect." His lips trail sloppily along her jaw, down the slim column of her throat and along her collarbone. He licks and sucks and nibbles as he explores. His hips increase the pace of their rhythm and Vala sighs her delight, the soft whiff of breath tickles his ear. He kisses up to her earlobe. "Baby, I know you're close, I want you to come. For me."

The way his words beg her to let her release wash through her is enough. He thrusts into her and his finger circles her clit just perfectly as his mouth surrounds her earlobe, suckling on it. The combination draws her to orgasm and her back arches in reaction. She tries to hold in her cry of his name, but it's stifled by his mouth instead. Pleasure and sensation rock through her from her sex to her toes up to her cheeks. She can feel the heat from the blood rushing through her. Her breasts throb and she can feel the milk squirting out. It only makes her come harder.

The tug and squeeze of her body around him is more than enough to send him falling. His balls seem to tighten impossibly close right before he starts shooting into her. The heat and humidity of his semen filling the condom inside her almost shock him with the intensity of the feeling. He's pressed as deeply as he can be and each spurt is a rocket of pleasure firing through him. He feels the warm wetness against his chest and knows that she's spraying him with breast milk. Cam wonders how many times he will come into her, each ropey spurt seems just as long as the last.

Her climax is slowly waning. Her breath returning. Her hands are against his back and she can feel the tension there as he holds himself up. His body is still jerking against her and she massages him to help him through the orgasm. The whole experience, making love, is intense and she can't help but want to do it again. She's exhausted mentally and physically, but the closeness she felt the whole time was second to none.

Vala watches his face and starts running her fingers through his hair as it goes slack. "That was-"

"Incredible, you're incredible." Cam's arms are shaking but he doesn't want to pull out yet. He still feels hard enough so he lowers his weight onto her, hands gripping her hips. "Hold on," It's a request that she takes seriously.

He rolls them, without slipping out of her body. Now she can lay on him, where he won't feel like he's crushing her, and he can remain buried inside her for a while longer.


	11. Who'd Have Known Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 11**

**CHAPTER 11**

He has no idea what time it is when he wakes up to the sound of Adria crying. Vala's still curled up on top of him, sleeping peacefully, and barely stirs when he shifts her aside.

He has to leave Adria to her tears for a moment while he cleans up in the bathroom, but Vala somehow sleeps through that, as well.

Adria is standing, hands gripping the edge of the crib, and blinking at him with wide, teary eyes. Her mouth is puckered and wailing, but she stops as soon as he picks her up.

She sniffles and babbles at him for a moment, then looks around and wriggles and says, "Mama?"

"Yeah, come on, we'll go join Mama." He kisses the top of her head, breathing in the baby powder scent and feeling her soft, silky curls against his lips. Vala opens her eyes this time when the bed moves with his weight, smiling when she sees both of them there.

Adria snuggles against Vala, not even wanting food at the moment, just wanting the comfort of her family by her. She looks between them and he wonders what kind of thoughts are running around in her head, how much of this she understands. He watches Vala stroke Adria's cheek and sees the warmth and love between them, a connection he can't even come close to. He's far from jealous; he knows that his role in their lives is entirely at Vala's discretion right now, that he's only getting the chance to be a father because she lets him.

He's already starting to think up plans, some way to get them all out of this mess. He'll have to talk to General Landry, but he's sure there's some way to do it.

"Stop," Vala says, teasing, but stern underneath.

"Huh?"

"You're thinking too much. Don't. Just... be here. Live in this moment."

It makes him smile, that she says that. No one he's ever met lives in the moment as much as Vala. But he understands what she means, and nods.

"I was raised to follow a schedule so living for right now is hard..." His hand strokes the baby's back and he slips down to be even with Vala, his arm under her neck and pulling her onto his shoulder. "You've had lots more practice."

"When you... when you got hurt did you wish-"

"I was angry at first. There was so much I'd wanted to do that I didn't. Millions of petty things that I thought I'd never have or get to experience." His legs twinge at the memory of regaining their use. "It's all unimportant though. Compared to what I have with you," He kisses her temple and wipes his hand across Adria's head. "And her. This wasn't even on my list. It crept up on me."

"I'm quite stealthy." Vala turns her head and her lips brush his shoulder.

"You are, no doubt about it." Cam lets out a sigh. He's content with them, but he's not sure if he can give up everything he's worked for. For so long SG-1 was his goal, his only reason for anything. It was such a powerful desire that he overcame so much. He might be pressing his luck to be able to keep the two girls next to him and his position with the Air Force. "I just hope that I don't let you down. It felt like I had when I got back and found you in that cell."

"I don't think you understand how much you'd have to do to ever disappoint me. My life has been, well, not that great... you've got a lot of wiggle room." Vala feels Adria wiggling up her body and latching onto her breast and suckling.

"Honey, I love you and just because your standards have been so low doesn't mean I should be held to them. You deserve to be treated well. Don't ever think otherwise."

"I love you." The words still leave her breathless. She doesn't think that they will ever not feel strange on her lips. Her heart pounds harder when she says them and a strange shiver runs through her belly. "I've never meant that before. I've only said the words to use people, never truthfully."

"It's good that I get one of your firsts." He winks at her and kisses her nose. The babies suckling is quieting and he can see she's drifting back to sleep, only needing a small snack to make it the rest of the night.

They just sit and watch her fall back to sleep and her mouth goes slack around her nipple. "I'm glad she's... I'm happy that I can love her."

"Me too, Princess, me too." He takes the child into his arms and brings her back to her bed. She barely stirs as he tugs the blanket up with her chin. He curls around Vala when he slips back into bed, spooning her to his chest. They're both still naked and his hand cups her breast to anchor her to his body. She sighs and lets him hold her, just melting into his arms. "I'll have to talk to Landry and see what he says about the situation soon."

"Mmkay..." She yawns and covers his hand with hers. "Don't think about it now. Just sleep."

He smiles against her hair and follows her advice. Letting all the pressure of tomorrow somehow fade away. He'll take it how it comes, but right now he's just going to hold on tight to the woman he loves and not contemplate a time when this isn't possible.

Cam's at his apartment alone for the first time in a while, no Vala or the baby... and he hates it. He looks around and sees Adria's toys and the crib they have set up here, sees Vala's socks in the corner of the room, a rather disgusting soiled shirt... actually, that part he doesn't need in his fond reminiscing. He gets rid of it and walks around absently straightening things up.

He's here for a reason, though. Because there is something he's been putting off for a long time, and the quicker he gets it done the quicker he can go back and pick up Vala and Adria and bring them home. Base quarters are certainly where they spend most of their time, but Cam still can't tolerate the idea that their home is under the mountain in a military base and he's been very free with letting Vala get as comfortable as she can in his apartment. He's even got a surprise for her coming up - a weekend pass. It had been hard to talk General Landry into it (or rather, hard to convince General Landry it was worth the IOA signing off on it) but he knows the general has a soft spot for Vala and it's growing softer every time Adria gives him that shy little grin she has now.

He smiles just thinking about it.

Picking up the phone, he dials a familiar number. His mother answers on the third ring. "Why, Cameron, I'd begun to think you'd just forgotten all about us..."

"Aw, come on..." He instantly starts to whine, but he knows it's true. "I called just last week."

"You left a voicemail, and you didn't reply when your father tried to call you back." Wendy Mitchell might be sweet but she's no pushover and she's not letting her baby boy off the hook.

"Well, I'm calling now," he says.

She has a mother's sixth sense and she can tell something's going on. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, mom... nothing like that. Something's actually right. Uh.. I met someone."

He hears her draw in a breath and he can practically feel the smile on her face. "Cameron, that's wonderful!"

"It's complicated though."

"Dear, it's always complicated. What is she like?"

"She's... beautiful. Sarcastic. Funny. Beautiful. Maybe the smartest person I've ever met."

"And beautiful?" Wendy finishes dryly.

Cam grins. "Absolutely. And she has a daughter. A baby - she's seven months old."

There's a pause, and he wonders if it's a bad thing. "How long have you been dating?"

"Well, it's... that part is complicated, too. But I've been helping her with her daughter since before we were together. She's such an amazing little girl, Mom... she's just... she's special." He knows he can't actually explain what he means by that, but he doesn't think it really matters. Even if Adria had 100% human parentage, she'd still be special to him. "I didn't even think I wanted kids, but she's just... she's everything i didn't know I wanted."

"Well, I already approve when I find out it comes with a grandchild all in place. That saves me eons of time begging and pleading."

He can hear his mom's teasing grin over the line and it makes him smile. His parents have always been supportive and understanding and yet able to keep him on the right path. "Yeah, you'll... you'll love them mom. I know you will."

"You sound pretty convinced that you do."

His mom's always been perceptive. "Yeah."

"So where does it become complicated?" She knows it must be a tough choice. He's already made up his mind about the woman and she can hear the joy in his voice when he talks of her daughter.

"I might have to..." He doesn't want to say it out loud. It's like if he never speaks the words then they won't ever come to be.

"Is she part of the Air Force?"

"Not technically." He hears his mother's 'ahhh' in the background and he scrubs his hand over his face. "She's in their care and her daughter is... special." He wishes he could explain more.

"Are you in love with her?"

"Yes." There's no hesitation. Not anymore.

"When you think of your life in 10 years, what do you see?"

The answer is so simple when his mom asks the right questions."Her, us, maybe another baby... I don't know if it's realistic. I just... I don't..."

"Your father had to make a choice once."

"Yeah?" He can't remember hearing this story before.

"He was assigned to a base in Nebraska. He was still lower in the ranks and didn't have much pull, but there was no way I could leave. I was heavily pregnant, with a baby just learning to walk. I couldn't pull up stakes, make a new home for your father and you."

"What did he do?"

"He went and talked to his General. He told him that his family was important to him and he didn't think that my condition would handle the move. The position he turned down would have been a big promotion. He probably wouldn't have ended up in that accident..."

"He didn't go, for us?"

"Yes, he chose his family." Wendy's sniffle can be heard over the line but she knows that Cam won't mention it. "I asked him if he ever wished he'd taken that job. Left us for a few months until after the birth and we would have followed him."

Cam wishes he'd known this story long ago. "What did he say?"

"He'd give his arms, too. Just to keep that time with all of us." She gathers her emotions, gives Cam a moment to let the story sink in. "Now what is the problem?"

"I might need to make a similar choice, but I'm not married to her and it's not my child..."

"Well get off your tush, Cameron Mitchell, ask that woman to marry you."

Cam doesn't even know what to say. The first thing on his tongue is a protest but he's not even sure what he's protesting. He's never in his life given much thought to marriage, certainly not past his twenties... "I don't even know if she would."

"You certainly won't until you ask," Wendy says. "But you want to, don't you?"

"I... don't know," he admits. "I just haven't thought about it."

"Then get to thinking. I know you can do that, son. And I know you'll come to the right decision."

They spend a few more minutes on the phone before Wendy passes it to Frank. There's no mention of marriage, just safe topics like football and what Cam's brother has been up to.

He hangs up and stares at it before picking it back up and dialing a different number.

"Cameron?" Vala answers with his name.

"Hey, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess. But you have perfect timing. We're out of baby food and mummy's supply is tapped out." She says the last part in a cooing voice, and he knows she's talking to Adria when she says it. "Can you pick some up? You were on your way back, weren't you?"

There's a whining note to her voice. It makes him smile, that she wants him back when he's only been gone for a couple of hours.

"Yeah, I was. I'll swing by the store and then get us something to eat, too."

"You're lovely, now please hurry." She hangs up on him before he says anything else. He doesn't mind; she's still getting the hang of the whole multitasking while being a parent thing.

He gets food on the way from Vala's newest favorite place, a hole in the wall Thai restaurant, and hits a grocery store to get some baby food for Adria since Vala said they were out.

No one thinks it odd anymore to see him walking down the halls of the SGC with a grocery bag in one hand and a takeout bag in the other. He even has a couple of people tell him to tell Vala hello, or request that he bring Adria around to visit. She's slowly but surely charming the whole base and Cam is nothing but a proud parent.

Cam's been having trouble sleeping lately. He can't stop thinking about what his mother suggested. Does he really want to get married? Not only that, but would Vala be willing to marry again? Can she set down roots that firmly, he's sure that he won't be letting her go if she becomes his wife. Not that he thinks that watching her walk away from him is a viable option now, anyway.

He nuzzles her hair as she sleeps in his arms. She smells sweet and clean and a little like Adria. She's wearing one of his old shirts, that's crept upwards and his hand is resting against her abs. Her body absorbs his heat, there's not much to her and she seems to enjoy being as close to him as possible at night so she doesn't have to waste extra energy making warmth. He doesn't mind being her personal heated blanket, though.

Landry's called him in for a meeting in the morning, well, in a few hours. He closes his eyes and tries to catch some sleep. Cam's sure the meeting is going to be about Vala and Adria. He still doesn't know what he's going to say.

"Sleep, darling," Vala murmurs as she snuggles deeper into his arms. "The General doesn't bite." She yawns, her eyes never opening throughout the conversation. "You're keeping me awake at night instead of Adria."

"I'm trying to be still. Sorry, baby." Cam kisses the back of her head.

"You're breathing isn't right when you aren't sleeping and I can feel it." She feels his nose nuzzling her hair and smiles. "We could have sex, that would wear you out."

"You're sleepy. I am too, I'm just restless."

"Well, I could lay here and let you make love to me. I bet I'd wake up quickly." Her voice is still full of sleep but her words are less slurred.

"If you didn't I'd worry about my skills." Both of them chuckle. "Go back to sleep, love. I'll sleep too, promise." He can feel her body relax back into slumber. He envies her ability to fall back asleep so fast. He closes his eyes and controls his breathing and finally finds his dreamland.

Cam sits in General Landry's office waiting on the General to be off the phone. The half of the conversation that he can't help but eavesdrop on reveals almost nothing, a lot of murmured responses from Landry ending with a "Yes, sir."

Landry leans back in his seat and looks at Cam. "Son, if you were trying to keep this thing between you and Vala a secret, you've done a piss poor job of it. You're putting me in a very awkward position, you know that?"

Cam swallows. The conversation is already uncomfortable. "Yes, sir."

"So," Landry leans forward, arms on his desk, and looks Cam right in the eye. "I'll give you a chance to close this matter right now. Do you want to deny that you are having a relationship with Vala Mal Doran?"

"No, sir." Cam says it clearly and firmly.

Landry nods, looking satisfied. "Didn't think so. Now, we've got a few things to discuss. IOA is pushing hard for us to relocate Adria Mal Doran for further study. Area 51 wants to get their hands on her."

Cam feels his anger rising. "She's not a test subject. She's a child."

"I know, Colonel." Landry's tone is sharp enough to stall the tirade Cam wants to launch into, but understanding enough to calm him somewhat. "I'm on your side, here. But we have to be smart about this. It is a reasonable argument that should something go wrong, Area 51 isn't prepared to deal with the security breach. They're a science facility, not a military one. But we have another issue, and that is your relationship. There are precedents that we can follow here, but we have to be smart about it. Janet Frasier was an Air Force officer who was allowed to adopt an alien child even after a potential threat was discerned, but the fact is that she actually adopted Cassandra. Daniel Jackson was married to an Abydonian woman and that marriage was recognized despite the lack of citizenship."

Cam just nods. He's not sure exactly what General Landry's getting at.

Landry seems to realize that. "What I'm saying here, son, is that we can argue your case, but it's gotta be more than 'but she's my girlfriend'. If you're not serious about this, get out while you can. If you are, prove it, and be ready to deal with what happens next."

"So... I need to marry her. Or adopt Adria," Cam says slowly.

"It's not an order, Mitchell. Just... consider it advice." Landry gives him a tight smile.

"Do you have any ideas about how this all might go down if I did, say, marry her?" Cam tries to keep his voice steady and not show any sort of emotion. He's glad that he was already contemplating asking her before this meeting. Marriage isn't something he wants to be forced into and the threat of losing the two of them would most certainly press him to make that decision.

"I'm sure the IOA will bitch and moan, but with the protection of a Colonel, plus General O'Neill has already made his position clear to them... I can see it disappearing. Unless something happens with the girl, then, well It's hard to say."

"And if I don't?" Cam doesn't even know why he asks. He sees Landry just shake his head.

"Son, I don't think you really need to ask that. I'm sure the result will be us scouring the country for an escaped alien pirate and her baby. But before that... I'm sure she's got a month or two left here the way things are before something breaks the protective wall around her and she's whisked off to places it's hard for us to get to."

Cam's the one nodding now. "Thank you, sir."

"You're dismissed unless you have any more questions." At Cam's denial he waves him out of his office and picks up the phone to make a call.

He's pacing outside Vala's room now. He wants to go in, but he knows that she'll ask about the meeting. He doesn't know how to lie to her and he can't tell her that Landry says marry her or risk her being moved to Area 51. That's no way to propose.

He almost trips over his own feet as he thinks the words. When it comes down to it, if there is a way for him to follow protocol and keep them in his life, he'll take it. He wants to marry her. Ideally he would have waited, dated longer, just enjoyed what they had and their building relationship. Sometimes life doesn't hand you options.

He makes a decision and jogs down the hall.

"I need an hour of your time."

Sam looks up from her equations and sees Mitchell poking his head around her door frame. "What exactly for?"

"Get your car keys. Come on." She looks wary still, Sam isn't always the most spontaneous but his keys are in the room with Vala and he needs to do this first. "Please? I'll owe you big time."

Sam looks at him and she can tell it's important. She's always been able to read him since they went through the academy together. "An hour. No more. I've got-"

"Yeah, yeah, lets go." Cam grins and drags her to the parking garage.


	12. Who'd Have Known Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **CHAPTER 12**

**CHAPTER 12**

They don't talk much on the drive. He can sense Sam's curiosity, but he thinks she might have a pretty good idea of what's going on. He doesn't think General Landry or General O'Neill would really come up with this on their own, so he has a feeling Sam has been planting seeds for a while now.

He's pretty sure he owes her a steak dinner, at the very least, but that can wait.

He pulls into the parking lot of a little shop he's passed a dozen times and wanted to stop in each time. He's resisted, unnerved by the very idea, until now.

"Wow," Sam says, staring at the sign on the door. "You sure?"

"Absolutely." He nods with grim determination, not unhappy with what he's doing, but understanding the enormity of it. "I have no idea what's gonna happen, but this is what I need to do."

"Good," she says.

Inside, Cam doesn't even know where to begin looking. He stares helplessly at Sam, who gives him back a shrug. "Hey, who made me the expert?"

"You've been engaged twice, haven't you?" Cam asks.

"Right, and married how many times? So clearly I'm not the person to ask." She's grinning when she says it, teasing him, and he laughs. "I think you know what Vala would like more than me."

"Yeah, but I'm also on a budget," he grins back at her. "And I don't happen to have a spare chest of gold and jewels laying around."

"Well... I guess we'll have to make do, then?" Sam steps over to a case and starts to look around. "Diamond, you think?"

"Yeah," Cam says, because while Vala would probably be happy with any sort of gem, he wants to do this right - the traditional way.

They both notice the salesman in the corner waiting for them to indicate that they are ready to look closer at something.

Cam and Sam confer over a few choices and then Cam motions for the man to join them.

"Can we see these three?" The man, whose tag says Frederick, reaches in and pulls out their choices.

"The one is a princess cut, half carat, nice clarity." He hands the ring over to Cam.

"I think that she'll like the platinum and the cut name will delight her." Sam likes that ring most of all, but she knows it will be costlier then the other two. They have smaller stones and are in a gold setting. "In fact, I think you should just go with it."

He see the price tag and it makes his stomach hurt a little. "I like it, but..."

"She's worth it, no?"

He thinks of all the money he's been spending on her and Adria and it hasn't made him blink an eye. The stone is not overly large, but it's definitely as big as he can afford.

"Yeah..." He says it again, with more confidence. "Yes, she is. I'll take this in size six."

"I'll get that wrapped up for you. Will that be charge or check?"

"Charge." He pulls out his wallet and hands him his credit card. It's been swiped more than normal of late and he's surprised that Vala hasn't worn the magnetic strip off yet. He smiles thinking about how delighted she is when he lets her pay with it though.

"How are you gonna do it?" Sam's looking over all the rings and comes back to him after Freddy leaves. "Got it all planned out?"

"Not at all," Cam says. "I don't know. I don't have a damn clue. Got any suggestions?"

Sam shrugs, helpless. "I'd say make it special, but I think your entire situation qualifies. Cam, however you ask, this is Vala. I think what you and she have already goes above and beyond."

Cam still knows that he wants to do something. He glances at his watch. "I'll take you back to the base now. I just needed someone to hold my hand through this."

She leans over and impulsively hugs him. "She's gonna say yes. She loves you."

He nods, though he's not quite convinced still.

He walks in to find Vala and Adria in the middle of nap time. Vala opens her eyes when he walks in, blinking and then smiling slowly at him. "Welcome home."

He shrugs out of his jacket and lays down on the other side of Adria, kissing her head. She wakes up and starts to fuss, yawning widely and putting her fingers in her mouth around her whimpers.

"Teething?" He asks.

Vala nods. "Can you get her ring..."

Cam gets up and walks over to the little mini fridge they've provided for Vala, pulling a frozen gel circlet out. Adria takes it and puts it in her mouth, her displeasure quieting slightly as her eyes droop again.

"Thank you. She's been up since you left. She doesn't realize mummy needs nap time just as much as she does." Vala smiles at her little girl, then looks up at Cam. "So how did it go?"

Cam reaches out and cups Vala's cheek, fingers across her skin. "We can talk about it later. Right now, I think a nap sounds pretty good."

"If you don't want to talk about it now then it must not have gone well..." She has an urge to be held, suddenly, it's overwhelming and she grabs his hand from her face and tugs him to lie behind her. Her stomach surges at him leaving her. She's never felt this type of need for another person.

He lies down behind her and puts an arm over her waist so he can rub Adria's belly as she gnaws on the ring.

"Vala... It's-"

"Please just tell me. I won't be able to sleep or do anything unless I know." She tilts her head back to look at him and he kisses her cheek. Her eyes close and she releases a sigh. "If it's bad news I just... I don't think I can handle it here, without you..."

Cam doesn't know what to do. He wanted to find a perfect time to ask her. He doesn't want to lie to her about the meeting, but asking her now would make her think that he had to. His brain scrambles for something, anything, to tell her that will ease her mind and not give away the fact that he's proposing.

"It's... Everything is going to be okay." He can tell she doesn't believe him. "It will. I am not going to let anything happen to either of you."

Vala looks at Adria and she's still settled quietly on the bed. She turns around and snuggles into his chest and his arm hugs her to him. She buries her face against his shirt and inhales, drawing the scent of him into her, calming herself.

"You're sure?" She knows that her voice sounds needy and weak, but she's feeling exactly that and she doesn't mind if Cam knows that about her.

"I love you." He gives her back a rub. "I love her. I won't let anyone hurt the people I love."

"Sometimes I don't understand how you can love me, but I'm so happy you do." Vala inches up his body until her face is level with his. She brushes her nose against his and then kisses his lips. "I love you too."

"Good, now sleep, baby. I'll be here with you making sure everything is alright." Cam kisses her and then she turns back around so he can spoon her. She's been particular about this position for the last few weeks. He loves the intimacy of it and how he feels like he's enveloping her whole body. She is so small and he's large enough to surround her. He loves it.

"Looks like Adria feels better, too." Vala closes her eyes and sleeps after seeing that the soothing motion of Cam's hand in addition to the teething ring have put her under the lull of sleep, too. Cam's too good to them both. She should mind, but she finds that she doesn't.

There's another mission, another few days apart, and Cam's unrest grows more and more. He sits outside of his tent and stares down at the picture of Vala and Adria that he carries with him now. It's worn and folded, and he thinks that he should update it soon because Adria's already looking older to him. He wants a whole collection, in a few years wants to be able to look back through them. His little girl growing up.

He tries to think about what she'll be like in a few years. Starting school, making friends. He wants that for her so badly. He wants everything for her; a life, a future, an education, happiness.

His eyes move from Adria in the photo to Vala and his heart trips a little. She's looking at the camera, mid-laugh over something Cam had just said to her. It's exactly how he wants to picture Vala always. He's seen her angry, seen her hurt, seen how she acts when she doesn't trust someone, when she's not sure what sort of ground she's on... he remembers her walking through the gate all cocky, clad in leather, trying to look like she owned the place. It makes him smile to remember now.

It's so far from the person he knows that she is. So much pain in her life, so much instability, and he wants to give her all he wants for Adria and more. He wants to give her happiness and care that he doubts many people in her life have. He wants Adria to grow up and be able to stand on her own; he wants Vala by his side until they're both old and gray.

It's still strange to want this at all, for himself. It's strange not to think of his job and feel that utter satisfaction that has carried him through the first half of his life. Now the job is still the job, but his loyalties are divided.

When he steps back through, he knows that he doesn't want a single mission more to come and go while he worries that she won't be there when he comes back. He's on autopilot through the medical exam and debriefing.

"Mitchell, I need you to come look at something if you have a minute," Daniel asks, stopping Cam outside the meeting room.

"Sorry, can't today," Cam says. He doesn't offer more of an explanation, and Daniel looks befuddled.

He catches Sam smiling at him as she walks away and knows that he's pretty transparent, to her at least. Which works in his favor...

He jogs after her to catch up. "Hey, Carter, I need a favor!"

Vala leaps into his arms as soon as Cam enters through the door to her quarters. He's not expecting it, but he catches her easily, wrapping his arms around her as she clings to him. He's thrilled with the exuberant greeting, carrying her over to the bed and dropping her onto it, their mouths meeting enthusiastically. They kiss with passion and all the desperation of two people very much in love who have been apart for too long.

Vala's bossy, impatient as always, and rolls them over so that she's on top. She kisses him again and says, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he says, reaching up and pushing her hair out of her face. "I want to get out of here. Feel like blowing this popsicle stand?"

"You still think it's cute when you say things I don't understand, don't you?" She huffs.

"Yes." Cam is unapologetic.

"Well, I'm going to assume that you were simply restating your desire to leave." She leans back, letting him sit up with her still on his lap. "And I'm in favor of that idea."

"I thought maybe... I talked to Sam... if she'll sit for the baby then we can..." Cam trails off, knowing she'll get the picture.

Her face lights up. She loves her daughter beyond hope, but they so rarely get to be alone together without Adria. Even sex is something done with am emphasis on being quiet and not waking her or disturbing her. The more aware of things Adria gets, the more Cam realizes that at some point soon they'll have to come up with other arrangements.

He thought about taking her some place to ask. He tried to pull an idea out of his brain, something creative and classy. Nothing came to him. Then he decided that the location, in the end, didn't matter. It was about him loving her enough to declare himself as belonging to her, and vise versa, forever.

Getting a sitter was key because asking her to marry him was about her wanting to marry him. Not about the baby or him becoming Adria's father. That was part of the deal for him, but she isn't the reason that Cam wants to become her husband. He's in love with Vala. He wants to make sure that she understands that is the reason he's asking.

During the mission he'd decided to just bring her to the apartment. They'd catch up on the few days he'd missed and when the moment felt right, perfect, he'd ask her. He ordered dinner in the car and they stopped to pick it up. He'd go change and collect the ring from his sock drawer when they got home.

Vala carried the food in and set out the containers of chinese while Cam changed out of his work clothes. The food smelled delicious and it was nice to not have to fuss about feeding Adria first. She makes up two plates and carries them to the couch, tucking her feet up under her and digging into her favorite noodles.

When he walks out in his comfy clothes and bare feet, her stomach flips at the simplicity of it all. She's here with him, they're together and she has food. She thinks about the sex they'll be having later. Hot, wet, slippery, loud sex. A heat is already gathering in her belly and she squeezes her legs together to ease the pressure. He leans over and kisses her temple as he slips in beside her and picks up his plate.

"This is the best Chinese food this side of the Mississippi." Cam garbles over a mouthful of sweet and sour chicken. He looks over at her and she's nodding. Her hair is a little mussed, presumably from an earlier nap, and she looks comfortable. "You're beautiful."

"I'm starving," she says, around a mouthful of food.

He laughs, understanding her priorities right now. He picks at his food, mostly just watching her eat, until she's done. He grabs both plates and puts them away for her.

"Dessert?" She says, hopeful.

He laughs. "I think I have some ice cream..."

His fridge has magically become stocked with things that Vala likes - including double chocolate rocky road ice cream. He puts a few generous scoops into a bowl and sticks two spoons in it.

"You expect me to share?" She gasps when she sees just the single bowl, then narrows her eyes. "You realize it goes quite against my nature, don't you?"

"I think you'll make an exception," Cam says, sitting back down beside her. She snuggles in against him and starts in on the ice cream.

"You're lucky you're so cute." She picks up her spoon and takes a bite, moaning at the fudge-y chocolate. "This is why this planet is worth conquering. For this alone."

"What, so if we just get rid of the ice cream, all the bad guys will leave us alone? Now there's a thought." Cam ponders that. "I could live without rocky road if it meant..."

If it meant having Vala and Adria...

Vala seems to understand. She leans over and gives him a sticky, cold kiss on the cheek.

"Hey!" He protests, wiping it off. She leans and then drags her finger through the ice cream before swiping his nose with it. "No fair!"

She giggles to herself and he thinks that payback is definitely in order. He puts the ice cream bowl aside and she jumps up, running back around the other side of the couch. He advances on her slowly and she's all smiles and whimsy, enjoying the little game. He runs forward a bit and she darts away and then it's a full on chase until he grabs her, arms around her waist, both of them still moving slightly with the momentum, out of breath and laughing.

"Ohh, you've caught me," she taunts him, squirming. Her back is to his chest, but he's got a firm grip around her. "What are you going to do with me?"

He slips his hand into his pocket and pulls out the box. He uses one finger to flip it open and puts it in front of her. "Marry you, I hope."

Vala goes still against him, no longer struggling. "What?"

"Vala..." He lets go of her, steps back and then in front of her, going down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

She just stares at him.

Her eyes are big and he thinks there might be tears in them. It makes his heart pound against his chest and he wonders if he chose the right moment. It just felt like the right time...

Her eyes flicker from the ring to his face. The diamond is probably a half carat and it's gorgeous. He's spent far too much money on her. For this, this thing that she isn't sure she can place. She loves him, but marriage hasn't ever meant much to her before. This time would be different. She can't answer him flippantly and it scares her. She falls to her knees across from him.

"You want to marry me?" She is still disbelieving. "Me? Space pirate, woman used by the Ori and Qetesh, with unknown roots and who knows how many people after me."

There's no hesitation. "Yes."

"Why? What is wrong with this?" The old fear prods around her senses and peers into her consciousness.

Cam's worried now. He didn't anticipate explanations. Although Vala's never been one to trick or fool. "First of all, I love you. I'm madly in love with you and want to spend the rest of this life making you happy." His hand palms her cheek and his thumb rubs along the bone there. "Second of all, I need to make sure that you're under the protection my name will provide-"

"Landry told you to marry me or risk having me shipped off somewhere, didn't he?" Vala pushed his hand away and stood up walking to the other side of the room. Cam was still on his knee, ring in the air when she turned to look back at him. She could see the truth in his eyes. "Is that why?"

"No, yes, not all of it..." He can hear her choke back a sob and his heart is breaking. He wanted to avoid this, but she's far too smart. "I want to marry you. No matter what the situation, the reason is because I love you. The time table might be moved up a bit, but this is where I want to be. Here, with you."

"I've been married quite a few times, Cameron," she says, parsing her words out. "I've married out of love, out of need, out of manipulation, and I think once simply out of intoxication. Marriage can be... many things."

"Not to me," Cam says, shaking his head. He gets to his feet, but doesn't walk to her. If she wants a little bit of space, he'll let her have it right now. "I've never been married. I never wanted to be married. You changed that. I want this because I love you."

She smiles at him and there's so much love in it, but he's sad for the mistrust he still sees there, sad for whatever has happened to her to make her think this before anything else. She says to him, "You gain nothing from marrying me."

"I gain you," he says. "And Adria."

"You have us already." She looks down at the ring box still in his hand. "You'd have us if we never did this."

"I want to keep you safe, and I can do it better like this. It's not a chore, Vala. It's not an assignment. It's my life, and I want to live it with you." Cam's frustration rises. "Do you want to be my wife? Answer me honestly."

"Yes," she says. "Do you want to be my husband?"

"Vala, I want nothing else. I'd still want it if Landry hadn't said a word." Cam says it with such passion and vehemence that Vala can't help but believe him. Tears well in her eyes and she lets them spill over, reaching out to take the ring. He pulls it back from her grasp, taking it out of the box and slipping it onto her finger for her.

"Yes," she says. "Yes."

Cam wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a hug. "I love you so much."

"I don't deserve you, but I love you." She whimpers the words against his neck as they embrace in his living room. The metal is warming against her skin and the weight of it feels good. It anchors her and for the first time in her life she feels a permanence. She doesn't want to run or leave him behind, she just wants to get closer. Vala tugs on him with her arms, but she's already molded to him. There is a burning need in her, rising up her spine, to be with him. It's something more than the usual desire. It's deeper than that and she finds she actually cares where the feeling stems from.

His penis is hardening against her belly and it makes her sigh - he feels the same.

"You deserve everything. I wish I could be more for you." Cam's hands are caressing her back now, moving everywhere, soft, gentle motions. His fingers find the hem of her shirt and slip under it. The skin he finds is smooth and hot to the touch.

"Make love to me." The words are between request and demand. She doesn't think that he'll mind.

He smiles into her hair. "You see the difference."

"There are plenty of times for hot, sweaty, wild sex. Then there are times like this when I just want to feel you inside me. It's like just having you there will calm my body down... It's not just about the orgasm." She pulls back and yanks her shirt over her head. He's followed her lead and is half naked when she tosses the material onto the couch. Her bra is next and then she's in his arms again.

Skin again skin, heat next to heat. Every part of them seems to sigh in relief at the contact.

He backs her over to the couch and pushes her down, kneeling between her legs and stroking his palms over her thighs, spreading them apart. He tugs the sweatpants she's wearing off and she's not wearing anything underneath. He really shouldn't be surprised, but the sight of glossy dark curls and the way her lips are already pink and glistening just makes his mouth water.

"Naughty," he says, the word catching in his throat.

"You like?"

"Always."

He doesn't waste much time right now, leaning in and dragging his tongue over her. She slinks lower on the couch and whines, her fingers curling into his hair and tugging on the short length, trying in vain to get a better grip and force his mouth against her with more pressure, the kind she craves.

He shows her that this is making love too; he's showing her with his tongue, with his fingers, with touches and kisses, with the pleasure that he sends flowing through her. He shows her that she deserves this and that he'll spend the rest of his life bringing her every sort of pleasure that he can. Sex and security and the ability to have someone there to hold you up when you just can't stand on your own.

Right now, though - right now it's about the physical, about knowing her body as well as he knows his own. He brings her off quickly and thoroughly, ramping the pleasure up and up, stubble dragging across tender skin and his fingers finding that rhythm inside of her, hitting on all the right pressure points. Clit and cunt, a double attack that has her howling her pleasure so loudly that he's sure his neighbors will have things to say.

Cam is so revved up tasting her, feeling her and hearing her that he doesn't even think. He tugs his sweat pants down enough to free his cock and he's plunging inside her. She's still thrumming from her orgasm and her muscles ripple around him.

She's so full of him now, tighter from her climax and he seems to be so turned on, she can feel every vein of him. The ridge of his cock is sliding along her walls and it's building her back up towards a second orgasm. She hadn't a clue about how much something like a marriage proposal would increase the sensitivity. Her emotions are running on a new plane of existence right now and her body wants to try out the new place, too.

The heat surrounding him is intoxicating. She's so wet and her body is squeezing around him so tightly that he can barely breathe, let alone control himself. His mind keeps repeating her voice saying the word 'Yes' or is she muttering it again now? He speeds up the tempo and reaches down to hike one of her legs up over his elbow. The new angle sets him deeper inside her and both of them groan.

"Baby..." He can't speak, he's so out of breath from the thrusting. "Close?" She gets his meaning and reaches between them to make sure she comes with him. He grunts and tucks his head into the crook of her neck, licking and sucking the salty flesh there. He's going to blow his load in about five seconds. Every plunge into her body brings him exponentially closer.

"Go. I'm right behind you, Cameron."

The sweet sound of his name on her lips is what sends him across the line. He's shooting his cum into her body and fuck if it doesn't hit him right then what he's doing. He tries to pull out to release the rest of his seed on her belly, but an ankle is holding him fast and her body is coming with him and everything is lost. He empties himself right there, against her cervix. Her hand is still working her body as he softens and the rippling around him is quieting.

"I..."

"Shhh." Vala knows he feels guilty. "I probably won't."

"What if you do?" Cam nuzzles her cheek with his nose. "I was so careless and stupid."

"You were so turned on by me that you couldn't think. If I get pregnant from that, it will be worth it." She hears the sigh by her ear. "I doubt that I will, though."

"I won't let it happen again." Cam kisses her lips and eases out of her. He can't deny how amazing it felt to be naked inside her. And there is a part of him that wants her to have a child that is theirs. It's just not the best time.

The couch becomes too small for their bodies, or at least for Vala's urge to sprawl out. He holds her hand and they stumble quietly into the bedroom, crawling between the covers. He pulls her close to him, tired but not ready for sleep yet, and his hands keep exploring.

He strokes down her stomach, over her thighs. She makes a pleased little whining noise that goes straight to his gut in a burst of pleasure, and spreads her legs a little. He's caressing with care, but no purpose right now, just exploring her, doing what feels good. He's fascinated by the slickness between her legs that is no longer just her, dipping a finger inside to feel his come there.

"Wow..." He speaks without even realizing that he's going to. She hums in agreement, pressing back into him, clenching around his finger. He understands the hint there, the implied request, and drags the come out to spread it around her skin, rubbing over her lit, using it as lubrication. "That's so hot."

"I could feel it," she says, her voice low and dark. That voice does things to him. "When you came, inside of me."

"What did it feel like?" He asks.

"Heat... thick... tickling..." The words are nonsense, really, but he still understands what she means perfectly. "I want you inside of me like that again."

"We can ask Lam about it... birth control..." Cam says. "Maybe there's something..."

He can tell the idea is exciting her, because she's getting even wetter. He starts to rub faster and she gasps, coming quickly. It's not as intense as her last orgasm, but the sharp contractions are still so erotic.

His cock wants to respond, but he's spent for the night. Cam's fingers remain against her until he feels her body settle. He's sleepy, but they are both sweaty and sticky. His hand is covered with their combined fluids and he rests it against her abdomen.

"You think she'll be able to give me something?"

"I don't know... I'm not an expert by any means, but lots of couples have sex after having a baby and don't have more. I doubt they all use condoms." He kisses her neck. Their bodies are calming and it's nice to be able to lay here and enjoy each other without having to check on the baby. It feels indulgent. They should probably get cleaned up.

"Don't wanna shower..." Vala can hear his thoughts and the cooling wet fingers on her belly clue her in on the fact they they should probably clean up. "Just wanna lay here with you."

He stretches his legs, testing their stability while lying there. "I"ll take care of you." He gets up and heads to the bathroom.

She can hear the spray of the water and she closes her eyes in denial. She misses his heat, but she'd rather sleep now, not get wet and clean. She must drift off a bit because when he comes back she doesn't hear him and it startles her when he lifts her upwards into his arms.

At her startled gasp he chuckles. "I told you. I'm taking care of you." She snuggles into his neck as he angles them through the doorway and right under the spray of hot water.

"It's warm." She slides to her feet and while he's still holding her upright, she is able to assist in the washing. His hands are quick and gentle and the soap feels nice on her skin. "You're very good at this. I think I'll keep you." Vala's lips tickle along his shoulder, licking at the droplets of water.

"I'm glad I'm acceptable." He saves her hair for last and lathers up the thick strands and puts her arms around his neck so she can support herself while he does it. "I love your hair."

"I love you." She concentrates on his skin while he indulges himself with her hair. The conditioner takes far longer then she knows is needed, but she doesn't say anything. She just lets him play. Her head is tipped back, breaking the contact that her lips had with his neck. The water feels nice as it rinses out the product.

"My turn." He turns them around and speedily cleans himself. The water is shut off and he grabs the towel and dries himself first. Then he grabs the larger, fluffier towel and wraps her in it. She stands and shivers as the heat dissipates in the cooling air. The humidity from the shower has gone and thankfully she's almost dry.

"Do I get to be carried again?" She enjoys the roll of the eyes she gets before he willingly picks her up again. "A slave that never argues is a joy. They are so hard to find."

"I love to serve you, mistress Vala." Cam kisses her neck and chuckles. "Would you like to sleep now?"

"Mmhmm. Sleep sounds divine." He sets her down on the bed and pulls the covers around her. He tries to walk away and her hand catches his elbow. "But only with you here, too."

"Gonna go close everything up. I'll be back."

He smiles as she drifts off almost immediately. He's quick about shutting off all the lights and making sure the front door is locked before slipping back into bed behind her.

Cam has no idea what time it is when he wakes up, but it's dark out and Vala's hand is on his dick. He thinks that he's still dreaming for a few minutes, and those moments between really waking and still being caught in a web of sleep are a pleasant haze of imagination and reality, like floating through air. It's a slow descent into awareness rather than an abrupt tumble and by the time he makes it all the way there she's slinking down his body, hands and lips everywhere.

She's naked, and he can feel the peaks of her nipples dragging along his skin, the soft swell of flesh against his thighs as she licks around his cock, fingers dancing over his length. The skin goes tauter under her faint touch and it makes him shiver. She traces the veins under the flesh, down to play with his balls, such light caresses - not nearly enough to be truly gratifying, but enough to get him where she wants him, worked into a frenzy. She knows exactly how to play him.

He says her name in a choked off voice when her lips touch the head of his cock, slick and leaking. He can't see her anymore, since she's disappeared beneath the covers of the bed, but he can feel her every breath and move, like somehow the darkness surrounding them means that he's hyperaware.

She licks around the shaft now, finally giving in and really touching him. She's tracing patterns with her tongue, and it's enough to have him rigid and jerking eagerly for more direct stimulation. She teases and just when he's about to ask her for more she decides to take pity on him. She doesn't draw it out too much more, her lips enveloping him in warmth and wetness and just staying there and letting him rest against her tongue for a few moments before sinking down on him.

His hands clench in the tangle of sheets and his toes curl as she starts to suck, moaning around him. Something about that sound cutting through the quiet makes it even more intense. He can hear everything; sucking, wetness, skin on skin.

He says her name again and she whimpers. He's hard against her tongue and he won't last long, doesn't even try. He says her name in that same choked voice again, this time a warning and not a request. He's too disarmed to do anything but let it carry him off as he throbs and spills into her mouth, more quickly than either of them had expected.

He gasps and throws an arm over his face, trying to find words. "Uh... sorry."

She makes sure he's clean of his cum before easing back up his body. "What are you sorry for?"

He hums against her lips as she leans down to kiss him, the salty flavor startling him, but not displeasing. Her tongue is slow and lazy against his and she kisses like she's still partly asleep.

"It's impolite not to warn... when..." Her nose strokes along his cheek and her breasts are pressed against his chest as she rests all her weight onto him. Her head lays on his shoulder as her palm moves along the curve of his collarbone.

"I knew. Don't worry." She turns her head and kisses his skin. Something about laying there with him makes her always want to touch or kiss him. "I owed you one."

"It's not a contest, baby." His hands have regained function and one of them finds her back, stroking up along her spine with the tips of his fingers. "It was good for me, last night, too. I like making you come."

"I like it when you come in my mouth."

"Fuck, I can't argue with that." She smiles against him. He can feel her lips moving on his chest. "It's a great way to wake up."

"Do we have to go back?" Vala doesn't want this time to end. She misses her daughter, but the time she's had alone with him is so little, with long periods of time in between, that she just wants to linger in the moment.

"We do." Her groan makes him smile. Vala's never liked being told that she has to do something. "Adria probably misses us and we need to see Carolyn about getting you on something so we can..."

She perks up at that. She's sitting up and straddling him, bending at the waist and letting her hair make a veil around their faces. Her lips are inches from his before she speaks. "So you can come inside me."

If he hadn't just had an orgasm his cock would have reacted instantly to those words. Instead, he lifts his head up and finds her lips. The kiss is hard and wet. They devour each other. He wants more pressure, more control, so he flips them over. She laughs, but is interrupted as his mouth covers hers again, swallowing the whimsical sound.

Vala cradles him closely and lets him press her into the mattress. They can't get enough of each other now, or ever.

"It's going to be hard to get used to that. I'm going to have to work on my endurance."

"I hope it's hard." She smiles huge at him and he growls at her before kissing her again. It feels like forever when they finally ease the ferocity of their lips. They are just gentle pecks and light licks that turn into soft nuzzles and wisps of breath.

"We should get ready..."

"Don't wanna." Vala pulls out her best pout.

"We have to share the news with everyone. Don't you want to show off your new ring?" This seems to delight her and she pulls her hand over his shoulder so she can look at it. The light is bright enough to see well now and the early morning sunlight glints off the diamond.

"Oh yes. Yes, lets get going. Samantha is going to admire this with me."

He doesn't mention that Sam's already seen it. He's sure that Sam won't bring it up either.

Adria babbles loudly at them when she sees them, scooting over to the edge of her playpen and getting herself up. "MAMA DADA!" She squeals at them, gripping tightly to the playpen wall, but wiggling her body to show her enthusiasm at her parents returning.

Cam goes over to her and picks her up, but Vala's sidetracked. She stands in front of Sam and, positively beaming, thrusts out her hand, palm toward her.

Sam's face lights up. "Oh, Vala! Is that really-"

"We're getting married." Vala is doing a fair impression of Adria there, bouncing and wiggling in excitement. "Isn't it lovely? Isn't the gemstone larger than average?"

Cam laughs and kisses Adria's cheek. "Mommy's bragging now. Try not to pick that habit up from her."

"Mommy's allowed," Sam says, grinning. "Vala, it's gorgeous."

"We're going to be married," she says again, as if she can't quite believe it herself. She mock whispers to Sam, "I'm not sure if he realized exactly what he's just agreed to."

"Mama," Adria says to Cam, her eyes going wider, showing her distress. She's said hi to daddy, now she wants the food source.

Cam hands her over and says, "I think he realizes exactly what he got into."

"Being associated with a known space pirate who is, while brilliant, seen as quite wonko and overly annoying and with her daughter of unknown origins will surely help your reputation." She buries her nose in Adria's hair and looks up at him. "You sure you know?"

"I know that I love you. The rest isn't important." He pulls her shoulders under his arm and angles them out of the room. "We'll be back for the stuff later. Thanks for watching her, Sam."

"I'd say any time, but I don't know how much of a tiny version of Vala I can take once she starts talking like her mom." Sam winks at him and smiles. "She's lovely, you know I adore her, I'd be happy to help when you need me."

When he gets them back to their quarters, he looks around. It's become emptier and emptier the longer they've been dating. There won't be much to move.

"We should get some boxes. We'll leave some stuff here for during the day, but most of this can move to my place." Cam can't believe how right it feels- bringing her into his life, permanently. "You can stay at the apartment when you don't have work to do here. Or just come in with me to keep me company..."

She's unbuttoning her top and Adria settles into nursing as soon as she reveals her nipple. "I enjoy your company... Speaking of which, we need to talk to Carolyn. Soon."

"I'll stop by and get an appointment on my way to my office and then call and let you know." Cam kisses her on the forehead and caresses Adria's head. "It's about that time. I'll call you in a bit and see you later. Lunch, I'll bring it here in a few hours, Princess."

"Oh food sounds divine. I think I'll nap with Adria while you're away. I need to work on some translations for Daniel, too."

The door clicks behind him as she watches him walk out to go to work. Her finger glints in the lamplight and she smiles and lets out a happy sigh. It's still unreal to her. So wonderful and it hasn't quite sunk in completely. She thinks about her wedding, about how it will be and she decides that she doesn't want to do anything huge. Just him and her and Adria. Something that unites them forever.

The phone rings and interrupts her thoughts. Cam tells her to go see the doctor in twenty minutes. She reminds him how erotic their sex life is going to be after the appointment and she swears she can hear him hardening over the phone and he hangs up on her before it gets any worse for him.

He shows up with a pudding cup (one of Adria's new favorite things) and a couple of sandwiches, promising to wait on her for lunch.

She's relieved that he understands her unwillingness to take Adria with her without her having to ask. The less she has to take her daughter near Dr. Lam, the better she feels.

"No problem," he says, giving her a kiss. She catches his sleeve and keeps him close, prolonging it.

"Thank you."

"I love you," he says, leaning forward until his forehead touches hers. "That sort of covers all the small stuff, I think."

Vala nods happily. "That will take some getting used to."

"Well, good thing I'm patient." He kisses her again and then steps back, shifting Adria to his other arm. "Ain't that right, punkin'?"

She giggles and presses her open palm to his cheek before giving him a big smacking kiss - another of her new favorite things.

"Can we tell Momma byebye?" Cam tries to coax her into it, but Adria's only got couple words and she hasn't worked those out yet.

She does give a very enthusiastic, "MAMA!" at Vala, though.

He's playing peek-a-boo with Adria when she returns. The delightful giggles on both of their parts are heard in the hallway outside the door. She opens it and enters to a peel of laughter as Cam has started tickling the little girl.

He looks over at her and stills the baby. "How'd it go?"

She pulls the packet of pills from around her back and wiggles it. "It went flawlessly. I got a couple of looks when I waved my hand where the light would catch this giant gemstone best, but besides that we're clear for..." She looks at the baby and sees she's occupied with shoving her foot into her mouth. She sidles next to Cam, facing him, and puts her arms around his neck. "You can come inside me. But not for a week while these things start to take effect."

"I think I can handle that." He kisses her cheek. "Your daughter is showing us how much she's like you right now. Putting her foot in her mouth and all."

"I'm quite sure I've never done that in front of you before..."

"It's a saying." Cam loves her confusion. The squint on her face turns into utter disbelief at some of the earth sayings and then she shrugs it off and files it away for future use. The process is visible on her face. "You're cute when you don't understand."

"So that's why you keep saying things to me that won't make sense..."

"Perhaps..." Cam looks at the clock. He's got some work to do before lunch time. "I've got some things to finish up. But I'll be back to eat with you. I brought you two sandwiches. Save one for when I'm back so I can eat with you and not have half of my food poached because you didn't save anything for yourself."

"I can't help that I am hungry." Vala scowls at him and he laughs.

"Honey, you're insatiable and I love it."

"You're easy."

"I'm a man in love. We're a breed of easy." Cam smiles at her and leans against the door. She's rolling her eyes at him and playing with Adria. He thinks about where he was only a few months ago and how much it means to him to be here now. He's gained a family and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

She looks over and waves him off, blows him a kiss and barks at him to hurry back or she'll eat his food. He shakes his head and his chest swells with the love he feels and the amazing rightness of his world before heading off to work.

Everything he loves in one place. A man never hoped to be this lucky. He was glad he did something in his life to deserve it.

The End


End file.
